Nanoha FanFiction Discussion - Page 1469

2011-02-20, 15:48

Link #29361

mega1987

GregOS Offline

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Philippines

Age: 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Ugh, I HATE Saturdays!

SOOO much!

11 hours straight at work does NOT do wonders for writing energy.

I agree with that one nanya.... OT can kill your energy and motivation....

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Darwin's nominee are best for laughs.
MGLN "Befriending" shows love thru superior firepower (Zenryokou Zenkai!)
Gundams are your worst nightmare in the battlefield.
SRW beats all foes.
JAM Project pwns all!!!

And I can't still make fanfic without restarting from the start when new ideas comes in...

2011-02-20, 16:07

Link #29362

mega1987

GregOS Offline

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Philippines

Age: 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Shine 1-40

Shine 41

Shine 42

Shine 43 and 44

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Shine 45:

Looks like Precia need to do what Rein Eins have began to do, let go of the past...
Nanya, don't tell me you're gonna kill her thru malnutrition... that's not a good way to go. But getting hit by some one's BFG or a Zankantou, on the other hand, is one way to say good bye cruel world...

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2011-02-20, 16:50	Link #29363
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for Book 1 Ch. 7 - Long Night of Solace: TEANA'S TRAVELS BOOK 1 CH. 7 - LONG NIGHT OF SOLACE Reach Szurdok Ridge, Ütközet August 13th, 2552 A Scarab’s foot came down several meters from the entrance to the cave Noble Team was currently hiding in. The walker failed to notice the Spartans passing into the cave, and stomped away. “Our foe is more devious than we imagined” said the computerized voice of Auntie Dot. “That spire was indeed a teleporter linked to a cloaked Covenant supercarrier – a grave threat.” Jess, Jorge, and Jun walked into the cave, Jorge hefting some sort of case. “Thankfully,” Dot continued, “help is imminent. 60% of the UNSC Navy is en route to Reach from existing deployments. The first battle group should arrive within 48 hours.” “48 hours?” Jun said, exasperated. “That’s ‘imminent’?” He looked to his right, and promptly reached up and brushed the smoldering ash off of Jorge’s shoulder plate. He then noticed the small debate/argument at the other end of the cave. “Uh-oh. Who’s your money on this time?” “Her” Jorge replied, gesturing at Kat as he removed his helmet. “You always pick her.” “She’s always had him dialed in.” “That thing’s crushing us,” Kat said, “and we’re waiting for backup? They’ll be backing up a graveyard.” “There’s nothing we can do, Katherine” Carter replied. “All our nukes are either out-system or went down with the ships that carried them. You’re preaching to the converted.” “How converted?” “I know that look, Kat.” “You can say no.” “No.” “You don’t even want to hear it?” A sigh. “Fine, I’ll hear it.” “Remember that accident a couple years back? Colony ship en route to Cygnus? 700 dead?” “Vaguely. A slipspace drive malfunction, right?” “Actually, the drive worked fine. But it was mounted improperly after a service haul-out. So, when it fired, it teleported half the ship to oblivion.” “And how is this relevant to our current situation?” “A certain Covenant supercarrier could, with some assistance, suffer the same ‘unfortunate accident’…” “Even for you, Kat, that’s…” “Inspired?” “Not the word I would use…” At this point, the others came up, everyone except Jess and Emile helmetless. “What’s going on?” Jorge asked. Carter looked to Kat. “Go ahead. Explain.” Kat reached for Emile’s kukri; Emile responded by grabbing her by the wrist. “May I?” she asked, getting the message. “…Don’t cut yourself.” He handed her the weapon. She crouched down and began using the blade to draw in the dirt. “Objective:” she explained, “destroy Covenant supercarrier in geosynchronous orbit.” “This sanctioned, sir?” Jorge asked. “What do you think?” Carter replied. “Oh.” “Method: a slipspace drive, in lieu of the nukes we don’t have. Delivery system? Us. Solvable? Getting us up there, and getting our hands on a slipspace drive.” She stood back up, brushing the dirt off the tip of the blade before handing it back to Emile. “Thank you for sharing.” “So…” Carter said. “All we need is orbit-capable transport, and the single most expensive piece of equipment made by humankind.” “As a soldier in the field,” Kat replied, “I couldn’t possibly have access to those kinds of resources. That said, a good place to look might be… I don’t know… the nearest nonexistent launch site of the nonexistent Sabre Program, dismissed by three administrations as preposterous rumor… and in which our newest member…” she looked at Jess, “was certainly never a pilot.” Teana chuckled. Emile stared. “…You’re scary. You know that?” “All we need is a green light from Holland.” “Good luck with that” Carter said. “You’re the one asking him” replied Kat as she handed him a datapad. “…There’s no way in hell he’s gonna go for this” Carter muttered, as Kat helped remove a few sections of armor and got to work on getting the kinks out of Teana’s shoulders. Being the only girls in the squad, they had to watch out for each other, after all. -SCENE BREAK- Sabre Program Launch/Research Range, Farkas Lake, Eposz August 14th, 2552 Two Falcons flew in, dropping off their cargo: Carter, Kat, & Jess from one, and Jorge & Teana from the other. The craft flew back the way they came, as the five Spartans looked at the deceptively clear sky. “Bit of a hike to the launch facility…” Jorge said, as his eyes followed a Seraph overhead. “Any closer’s too hot to land” Carter replied. “Move up the beach, Noble.” First Floor: Beaches, Aliens, Top-Secret Launch Facilities The quintet passed between two large boulders, and emerged onto the main beach. The sky was filled with Covenant Seraphs, and with shots from AA guns in the nearby base. Jess pulled his pistol up and shot three Grunts in the head, just as a Covenant drop-pod landed behind the Grunts. From it came a blue-armored Elite. The combination of Jess’ assault rifle and Carter’s DMR quickly brought it down. The group moved right, mowing down another group of Grunts and a red-armored Elite. Another drop-pod landed up on a nearby small hill, and a white-armored Elite Ultra leapt out. Teana fired a 40mm grenade at it; the grenade smacked into the Elite’s chest and detonated, weakening the alien’s shields. A barrage of bullets from Jorge’s machinegun did the rest. As the group created the hill, a Seraph was hit by one too many AA rounds. It spiraled out of control, smashing into the launch facility at high speed, by sheer chance crushing the AA gun that had fired the fatal shot. Carter winced at the irony. The Spartan team advanced toward the building, Jess throwing a frag grenade to kill a trio of Jackals. He then flanked right, going around a large boulder. He tossed his other frag at the four Grunts who were distracted by the other Spartans, killing them before they knew what hit them. Teana fired three-round bursts at an Elite Ultra higher up, but it ducked behind cover. Jess moved up, caught the alien unawares, and stuck a plasma grenade to its upper back. The burnt, headless carcass slumped to the ground, and the two Grunts nearby lost discipline, breaking ranks and trying to flee. Jorge gunned them down. Teana fired three shots into the chest of one of the Jackal Marksmen guarding the door, while Carter shot the neck of the other one. The door opened, revealing an army trooper. “Everybody inside!” he called. “More hostiles on the way!” The Spartans ran into the building, Jess grabbing the Jackals’ needle rifle and five clips of ammo for it. As they went in, a Pelican swept in behind them, dropping a squad of marines to cover the door. “Flight control’s this way” another trooper said. “They’re expecting you.” Noble arrived at the blasted-out section that the Seraph had crashed into earlier, stepping over bits of rubble. “Still can’t believe Holland said yes to this” Jorge muttered. “Well,” Kat replied, “some plans are too good to say no to.” “Let’s get those Sabres airborne before he changes his mind” Carter said. As they passed, an army trooper fired a rocket at a Wraith down below. The rocket hit the top hatch, blowing it off. A second rocket went off inside the cockpit, fragmenting its driver and wrecking its controls. The tank dropped to the ground. The group moved on, Jess leading, and was startled by the sight of an army trooper flying through the air from the right, crashing into a wall. An Elite Major stepped into view, and Jess quickly ran at him. He tackled the Elite, knocking him onto his face, and before the alien could get up Jess leapt up and then came boots-down on the Elite’s neck. They continued on. “Warning” the computerized voice came over the PA system. “Launch facility has been breached.” The next room was dark and filled with dead army troopers. As they reached the far side, a bulkhead rose to reveal a large craft sitting like a 20th-century-style space shuttle waiting for takeoff. Lights snapped on, highlighting the YSS-1000 ‘Sabre’. “Jorge, Six” Carter ordered. “Get to the Sabre before the Covenant wreck it.” “What about you three?” Jorge asked. “Teana’s gonna head about five minutes down the hall to another Sabre and follow you guys up. Jun’s on his way with a Falcon, so Kat & I will exfil after you launch. Go!” “Launch teams,” a trooper called, “Sabre is prepped and ready for launch.” Jess and Jorge stepped through a curved hallway. On the way, Jess stopped at a dead Elite Ultra and grabbed the alien’s plasma sword from its hand, clipping it to his waist. The two then walked up the catwalk to the craft’s cockpit. Jess hopped in the pilot’s seat, shifting to get comfortable, while Jorge hopped in behind him. The cockpit sealed shut, and the ramp detached and folded away. “Struts disengaged” came a recording. “Commencing launch in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…” The Sabre’s engines roared and flared to life, and after a few seconds the craft began to rise into the sky, gaining speed as it went. Half a kilometer away, another Sabre launched from a neighboring facility. “First-stage engine burn nominal.” Soon, the craft left the upper atmosphere, reaching low orbit. “Stage separation in 3, 2, 1… stage separation.” Several clanks sounded as the Sabre’s booster rockets detached and fell away, to be consumed by Reach’s atmosphere. The Sabre kicked in its engines and rocketed towards station Anchor-9. “Second-stage ignition confirmed.” Below was a magnificent view of Reach, including a massive hurricane slowly but surely making its way for the coast. Soon, the craft reached the station. Operation: UPPER CUT “Noble Actual to Sabre Bravo-0-2-Niner, over” came a familiar voice over the comm. “Copy, Actual” Jorge replied. “Colonel Holland?” “Affirmative, Noble-5. Welcome to Operation: Upper Cut. I’ll be your control from here on out.” “Understood, Colonel.” “Noble-6, these Sabres have been customized for orbital defense. You may need to get reacquainted. Rendezvous at Anchor-9 with frigate Savannah and the other Sabres as soon as you’re ready. Holland out.” Overhead, the UNSC frigate slowly approached the station, preparing to dock. Jess spent the next few minutes practicing light maneuvers and configuring systems. Soon, Charlie-0-1-7 joined in, Teana sitting in the passenger seat behind Captain Jacob Rawley, who was currently wondering how his Pelican-piloting sister Carol was doing. The Sabres – seven in all – headed for the station. “Savannah Actual to Sabre teams” came the frigate’s Commander, “be advised; we have multiple bogies inbound.” “Anchor-9 to all UNSC ships” radioed the station commander. “Station defenses are down. Requesting combat support until we can bring them back online.” “Here we go, Six” Jorge said to his partner. “Let’s show them what you can do.” Several seconds later, multiple Space Banshees flew in, immediately engaging the station defenders. The Banshee Interceptors had numbers and maneuverability on their side, but lacked offensive power and defensive shields. The Sabres, protected by shields and carrying powerful guns, and piloted by elite-trained personnel, quickly whittled down the assault without losing any fighters. “Anchor-9 to UNSC ships: impulse drive signatures detected – fighter class. Heads up, Sabres.” Five Seraphs warped in. These tougher craft gave a bit more trouble, carrying shields and heavier weapons. Nonetheless, despite a few very close calls, the Sabres managed to again triumph without loss. “Anchor-9 to all craft in the vicinity, be advised: we show a large attack force inbound. Combat air patrol and Sabre teams are directed to engage and defend the station.” “Is there any place the Covenant isn’t?” Jorge quipped. “Anchor-9 to all UNSC ships: station defenses are back online. Clear the lane, and we’ll light ‘em up.” A mixed force of Banshees and Seraphs, larger than the previous two combined, warped in. Several Banshees were shredded by Anchor-9’s now-active point-defense guns, and the Sabres joined the fight as well. This skirmish saw the first UNSC loss of the battle, as Alpha-1-3-7 took too many hits and exploded violently, its lone pilot at least being killed quickly by the blast rather than the horrible death of being thrown into a vacuum. A chunk of the Sabre, carried by momentum, tore through a Banshee Interceptor, shearing it and its pilot in two. A few minutes in, five specially modified Phantom Gunboats flew in, protected by nigh-impenetrable forward-facing shields and carrying huge plasma guns. Charlie-017 and Bravo-029 flew past them, taking up position behind them, and opened fire with their missiles. Four missiles to the back end of each gunboat, and soon the five Phantoms were scrap being drawn in by Reach’s gravity. The few remaining Space Banshees pulled a hasty retreat, being hounded by the Sabres and by Anchor-9’s guns. All the Seraphs were already scrapped. “Anchor-9 to all UNSC ships: all targets neutralized. Bravo-029, you are clear to dock.” “Holland to Bravo-029. Noble-5, you ready to go?” “Affirmative, Colonel.” B-029 and C-017 flew toward the station, docking just outside the station’s two hangars. “I’m out here, Six” Jorge said. “Warning” said a computerized voice. “M-Spec re-entry pack disengaged.” “I need your override.” “Warning. M-Spec re-entry-” the voice cut off as a hiss sounded. “Cockpit depressurization complete. Canopy release lever armed.” Jorge pulled a lever, and the two seats slid backwards as the canopy opened. He climbed out and pushed off, heading for a Pelican on the other side of the station. As he passed Teana who was heading the other direction, towards Jess’ Sabre, he looked down at the carnage below, on the planet’s surface. “Megszakad a szivem...” “Noble-5?” Dot questioned. “Please repeat.” “Pull up surface grid 19 by 22” was Jorge’s response. “Gladly” Dot said, as an explosion went off far below, “ONI Sword Base: Sector 18-G.” Another explosion ripped through the area, clearly visible even this far up. “Thermal enhance” “…Noble-5, your pulse rate is elevated. There is nothing you can do for Dr. Halsey and the others inside Sword Base. The mathematics are determinate… Noble-5?” “…I know.” Teana reached Jess’ Sabre, climbing aboard and getting in the rear seat. “Bravo-029” said Anchor-9’s control, “you are cleared to re-engage thrusters.” Jess hit a switch, and the cockpit closed. “Noble-6, this is Holland.” “Go ahead, Colonel” “We’ve flagged a Covenant corvette on a predicted docking track with our target.” Jorge reached the Pelican carrying the drive-cum-warhead, latching on the getting to work helping set things up. “Get our makeshift bomb onboard that corvette,” Holland continued, “and we have our delivery system. Noble-5 will escort the bomb. I need your Sabre team to clear the way for boarding.” “Understood, Colonel.” “As she’s already donated her slipspace drive to the cause, the Savannah will be joining you to provide local fire support.” “This is UNSC Savannah” CMDR Hendrickson radioed, “Our wings may be clipped, but we’ve got your back.” The frigate detached from the station and took off, the six Sabres flying escort. “I’ve stuck my neck out for this one, Noble” Holland radioed. “We’ll get it done, Colonel” Jess replied. “Six out.” Several minutes later, the UNSC force came into visual range of the corvette, the slightly smaller vessel unaware of the approaching frigate. “Target corvette sighted within visual range of NAV Beacon RA-15” Dot said. “We have visual” Jess said. “Target confirmed.” The Savannah got into position, and opened up with every non-MAC gun that had the Corvette in its field-of-fire. “Frigate Savannah in position” Commander Hendrickson called, “We are currently jamming the corvette’s comms; hit it hard while it can’t call for help.” “Agreed” Holland replied. “Sabre teams, clear a path to that corvette.” After 20 seconds of Banshee-shooting, Hendrickson radioed again. “Might wanna clip her engines, guys. See if we can slow her down.” “Good thinking, Savannah” Holland said, “That’ll make boarding her a whole lot easier. Sabres, I’m marking targets; take out the corvette’s main engines.” Three Sabres responded, Jess’ one of them, the trio flying low and getting behind the vessel. They let fly their missiles, and the four thrusters tucked into the corvette’s rear were soon billowing flames. Seconds later, a half-dozen Seraphs arrived from elsewhere. “Heads up, Sabres” the Commander called. “Multiple impulse drive signatures detected. More bogies incoming.” “Echo-2 to Savannah Actual” a Sabre pilot radioed. “Where are the reinforcements coming from? I thought the target was jammed.” “Must be squadrons coming back from patrol, Echo-2” “Don’t let any of them get away, Sabres” Col. Holland ordered. “Kill them before they bug out and warn that supercarrier what we’re up to.” The next few minutes were a relative turkey-shoot, as the startled Seraph pilots failed to organize an effective counter in time before the Sabres, combined with heavy fire from the Savannah’s guns, took them out of the equation. After the enemy support was destroyed, along with most of the corvette’s defensive turrets, Col. Holland called in. “Dot, analyze all available data on that corvette. Find a way inside.” “Scans indicate a structural weakness surrounding a platform on top of the vessel.” “Assault teams, set down immediately on the corvette’s topside landing pad.” The Sabres Bravo-029, Charlie-017, Alpha-218, and Bravo-074 set down around the large circular thing on top of the ship. Two Spartans and six vacuum-suited army troopers disembarked, readying weapons and double-checking supplies. And The Horse You Flew In On “Noble-6, Noble-7” Col. Holland radioed, “the Savannah’s counter-measures won’t last forever. Find a way inside, and permanently disable the corvette’s communications. As soon as we’re sure the corvette can’t squawk, we’ll initiate Upper Cut phase two.” A single Elite Ranger rose up through the shield, and was promptly skewered by Jess’ plasma sword. Another popped up across the platform, and was gunned down by the troopers, with support from Teana’s rifle. The team then leapt through and slow-fell into the comm. chamber. Dead Elites and Grunts littered the area. Only Elite Rangers and a Grunt Ultra, safe inside vacuum-sealed armor, remained to provide resistance. Assault rifle fire downed the Grunt, and Jess & Teana dispatched the two Elites, Teana slicing one across the neck with her energy bayonet while Jess took the other down with needle rifle fire. “Holland to Savannah: enemy comm. relay is now offline.” “Copy that” Hendrickson responded. “Halting counter-measures; diverting all power and personnel to weapons.” “Alright, Noble,” Holland continued, “let’s get that bomb onboard. Six, Seven, head for the hangar.” A door opened, revealing a pair of Grunt Ultras who were gunned down in less than a second, having been caught unawares. An Elite Ranger farther in returned fire with a plasma repeater, and Jess leapt in front of a trooper, letting his shields take the hits. Teana threw a plasma grenade, and in the low gravity it seemed to fly as it stuck to the Elite’s faceplate, detonating and blowing its head off. “Colonel,” the army corporal radioed, “we’re on our way to the hangar.” “Noble-5, meet ‘em there.” “Affirmative” Jorge replied. “On approach.” The large hangar was populated by eight Grunt Ultras, four Elite Rangers, and an Engineer that floated high up, projecting an overshield onto the other Covenant forces. A trio of needle rifle shots blew it to pieces, and Jess then went up the ramp to the left, reaching a Covenant ammo crate and stocking up on needle clips, then getting to work on picking off targets. A shot from a needle-rifle-wielding Elite Ranger at the back of the room killed one of the troopers, the needle punching through his faceplate and his skull. Jess returned the favor, overloading the Elite’s shields and head-shotting it. He then hopped down, drifting to the floor while shooting Grunts as he descended. Teana gunned down another Elite, and a third went down under sustained fire from three troopers. The fourth had its head lopped off by Jess’ plasma sword. The hangar was clear. “Noble-6,” Jorge radioed, “go for those shield controls. I need in.” Jess leapt onto a platform and hit a glowing switch. Instantly the air returned and pressurized, the gravity coming back on in full, and the glowing blue shield wall changed hue. The Pelican passed through it, coming to rest as Jorge and six marines disembarked from the hangar. “Powder keg is aboard, Colonel” Jorge radioed to Holland. “Copy that” the Colonel responded. “Six and Seven, get your fireteam to the bridge; the corvette’s refueling run with the supercarrier will have to be initiated manually. Five, stay with the bomb, and discourage the curious.” “My pleasure” Jorge said, and then turned to the other two Spartans. “Hear that, you two? I’ll be all by my lonesome back here. Make it quick, would ya?” “Save a few for us if you can” Teana responded. Jorge nodded and hefted his machinegun. The surviving vacuum-suit troopers took up position around the Pelican, as did two of the marines. The other four marines formed up with Jess & Teana, who grabbed three frag grenades each, both checking their re-entry packs as they prepared themselves. Two nearby doors opened, the left one revealing a very surprised pair of Grunts. Two needle rifle shots, and they were down. The other door, holding a pair of Grunts and two Elites – one Major, one Ultra – was more problematic. The Grunts went down quickly, but the Elite Major carried a carbine, and managed to shoot one of the army troopers through the chest. The man grabbed at his heart and keeled over. A marine threw a grenade, and it caused both Elites’ shields to flare. Teana and the marines combined full-auto fire on the Ultra, taking it down, while Jess used the needle rifle to finish off the Major. A marine grabbed the Ultra’s concussion rifle and three spare clips. “Savannah to Holland!” came the panicky voice of Commander Hendrickson over the radio. “Sustaining major structural damage! We need to break off, Colonel!” “Copy that, Savannah” Holland replied. “Our team is in! Disengage!” The team entered another room, and Jess assassinated the lone Elite Ultra, but it was too late for the Savannah. “Break off! Break off! Hull breach! Reactor’s flaring! Damnit, I’m losing her!” Small explosions rippled across the frigate’s structure, and then a larger one accompanied the port engine breaking off and drifting away. Seconds later, a bright flash and a huge blast signaled the ship’s reactor detonating, and the fried bits of ship drifted off in several directions. “Savannah Actual, can you hear me?” Holland radioed. “Frigate’s gone, sir” Teana replied somberly. “Damn it. Noble, you’re in deep with no cover. Get that corvette moving and get the hell outta there!” Another door opened to a winding corridor, and the team moved through. At the end, another door opened to a large, spacious room with a huge hologram of Reach in the center. Teana snuck through the various instruments, her relatively small size (5’ 8.5” in armor, 5’6” without it) helping her as she reached the ship’s navigations officer. A short jump, and she had a hold of his neck. A twist, and he collapsed. This alerted the rest of the bridge crew, and the marines opened fire, mowing down the Grunts as Jess engaged an Elite, killing it before it could activate its active camouflage. Another Elite fell to Teana’s sword, and then the Ship-Master emerged, clad in red and gold armor and wielding a concussion rifle. A shot from its gun caught a marine in the chest, blowing him open; his comrades returned the favor by pouring fire into the alien’s shields. Jess grabbed a Needler off the ground and joined in, and soon they wore down the Elite’s shields and buried themselves inside its flesh and armor. The eight needles super-combined, blowing the Elite’s torso open. Jess casually stepped over the corpse and walked over to a highlighted panel. He hit it, and the ship lurched and began to move toward the supercarrier. “Well done, Noble” Holland radioed. “UPPERCUT initiated; corvette is underway.” “Guys,” Jorge said, “our ride out of here is taking heavy fire! Get back to the hangar!” The door back to the gun battery opened, and a needle rifle shot struck a marine through the neck. He dropped like a rock. Jess threw a frag grenade, and the blast killed the two Grunts and depleted the shields of the red-armored Elite. A needle rifle shot from Jess killed it, and the team moved back through the hall, back to the gun battery. Another frag grenade tossed through an opening door killed two Jackals and two Grunts. The group reached the hangar, and at this point only Jorge, the two marines, and a single suited army trooper remained. Jess’ team joined the fight, soon clearing the hangar. Jess grabbed a plasma launcher from the ground. “Good of you to come” Jorge said. “Hostiles were pounding the hell out of the Pelican.” A force of six Jackals – four shielded and two marksmen – emerged from the door on the left. A frag grenade killed the shield-wielders, and Teana gunned down the two marksmen. A plasma bolt from across the room nailed the last army trooper in the back of the head, killing him, and the rest of the humans turned to face the new arrivals. A red-armored Elite and four Grunts opened fire, and Jorge returned the favor, cutting down two of the Grunts. The marines took down the Elite, while Jess killed the other two Grunts. Jess, following an instinct, tossed a frag grenade at the opening door that led to the comm. room. He was rewarded by a half-dozen dead Grunts. He then took the left ramp up, encountering a pair of Elites – one red, one blue. The plasma launcher took care of them. He hopped back down to the main area. Then, a quartet of white-armored Elite Ultras came down from the far side of the room. One wielded two plasma rifles, another a plasma launcher, the third a concussion rifle, and the fourth a carbine. The next few minutes were hectic as the Spartans took down the Elites, but lost the rest of the marines. Finally, it was quiet. “Savannah did a number on the door” Jorge said. “There’s no way back up to the Sabres. Six and Seven, form up on me.” The two red-armored Spartans approached their taller friend, who walked up to the slipspace drive. “Distance is closing on this vessel’s refueling track with the Covenant supercarrier” Dot reported. “76 seconds to endpoint.” “Damn it…” Jorge fiddled with the timer. “So… it’s gonna be like that…” He pounded it with his fist, and then turned to face his comrades. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. This bird took some fire and her thruster gimbal is toast. Which means the only way off this slag-heap is gravity.” “And the good news?” Jess asked. “…That was the good news.” “At current velocity, 53 seconds to endpoint.” Jorge pulled off his helmet, dropping it to the ground. “The bad news is… the timer’s fried. I’m gonna have to fire it manually.” “…No…” Teana’s voice came out in a strained whisper as she realized what this meant. “…Jorge… you can’t…” “I’m sorry, Tia” Jorge replied, “but it’s the only option we have left. You two’d better get going. They're gonna need you down there.” He walked up to the two, Teana’s visor depolarizing to show him the shocked and horrified look in her eyes. “Reach… has been good to me. It’s time I return the favor. Don’t deny me this.” He pulled his dog tags free and placed them in Teana’s shaking hand, grabbing hold of her arm while doing the same to Jess with his other hand. He lifted them both off the ground and started walking towards the shield door. He could see the shocked yet understanding look in Jess’ eyes, as well as Teana’s wide eyes starting to tear up. “Teana...” he said softly. “You’ve come so far. Your brother would’ve been so proud of you. I’ll tell him you said hello.” The girl couldn’t speak, only shaking her head as she couldn’t come to believe this was happening. Jorge smiled sadly. “I’m thankful that I got to meet you. You were like a daughter to me.” At this, the girl's tears finally started to fall. “Good luck down there… and tell ‘em to make it count.” With a final shove, he pushed the two out through the shield, and Reach’s gravity grabbed hold of them. As the corvette grew smaller in their eyes, the corvette began to spark and warp as it reached the entrance to the supercarrier’s main hangar. A blue-white rift opened in space-time, swallowing up the midsection of the supercarrier. When it closed, the corvette was gone, as was the center of the titanic vessel. Its front and rear ends drifted helplessly away. Jorge’s final sacrifice killed over 60,000 Covenant troops. … “Slipspace ruptures detected.” “Gamma Station control, reading multiple pings below the orbital defense grid.” “Yeah, we’re picking up anomalies, too.” “Are you reading this?” “Multiple Covenant signatures! Way too damn many!” “Does anyone have a visual?” “Goddamnit, they’re everywhere!” “My God, this can’t be happening…” “It must be their whole damn navy!” There were screams, and then silence.

2011-02-20, 17:01

Link #29364

deathcurse

Queen of Tragedy

Join Date: Mar 2009

Location: Place of rocks and trees, and trees and rocks...and water.

Age: 33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Spoiler for I...uh...:

Spoiler for Vivid?:

Spoiler for reply to Tiresias:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Spoiler:

Spoiler for reply to Jimmy C:

__________________

Fanfic Archive--Latest "Angel" chapter--Latest "Daily Activity Logs" chapter--Latest "Crime Never Sleeps"--The Hayate x Vivio Files

2011-02-20, 18:30	Link #29365
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for Book 1 Chapter 8 - Exodus: TEANA'S TRAVELS BOOK 1 CHAPTER 8 - EXODUS: Reach August 14th, 2552 Jess limped toward the detached re-entry pack, shaking a kink from his arm as he moved. Behind him, the wreck of the Covenant supercarrier burned. He reached the pack and grabbed an M6 pistol with two spare clips of ammo. His other weapons had broken free during the descent and were lost. He turned around, and began walking, hoping to find civilization soon. -SCENE BREAK- The last several days had been hard. After Jess and Teana joined up three days after their landing, they’d continued looking for signs of human life, dodging Covenant patrols as they went. Four days in, they managed to link up with a surviving satellite for a world map, and promptly began heading towards New Alexandria, the nearest large city (which also happened to be a starport). Now, the two crested a small hill, and the city came into view. New Alexandria, Eposz August 23rd, 2552 The city was in flames. A trio of Covenant corvettes hovered overhead, and AA fire ripped through the sky. Teana let Jorge’s tags slip from her hand, swinging from the chain grasped between her fingers. She brought them up and stuffed them inside a compartment on her armor, and she & Jess worked their way down, Cross Mirage being shifted to single pistol mode. They worked their way down, skulking around corners and hugging buildings. A railing had been blown out, and they stepped through, dropping 15 feet to the pathway below. They readied their weapons as a fluttering roar came from behind them. The Devil His Due The sound turned out to be a pair of Falcons which passed overhead, failing to notice the two Spartans below. “This is Kilo Dispatch” said a man’s voice over the comm. “All available teams, advance to Traxus Tower. Evacuation will commence ASAP.” “Copy, dispatch” replied the voice of another man with a southern drawl. “What’s the status of the tower pad?” “Tower pad is green. Let’s move these civilians before it changes.” “Copy, Dispatch. 4-0 out.” The two moved on, and found a massacre. Dead civilians littered the area, and the pavement was red with blood. A wheelchair lay overturned on the ground, and an old man lay dead near it, his throat crushed. A young couple was braced against a wall, holding each other’s hands in death. A child’s ball, stained with blood, rolled across the ground. Something was off, Teana thought. Grunts only attacked civilians when ordered to or when starving, and they always took care to leave the young alone. Hunters paid them no mind. And Elites abhorred the killing of civilians, considering it dishonorable and only attacking them if first attacked by them (they killed plenty during orbital bombardment operations, but that procedure was far more impersonal, easy to distance one’s self from). Jackals & Skirmishers freely killed (and ate) noncombatants, as did Drones, but they hardly ever got to due to their commanders usually being Elites. Either there was a pack of Kig-Yar and/or a Yanme’e swarm operating without Elite command in the area, or something else had happened. The two moved on, passing through a darkened room, the lights blown out, and reaching another door that led to a stairway. At the top of the stairs, a trio of Skirmishers conversed in their language of squawks and clicks; Teana blew the closest one’s brains out, and Jess did the same to the other two. They moved up the stairs, Jess grabbing a Needler from the red-armored Skirmisher and two more clips of pistol ammo from a nearby fallen trooper. The duo then entered the next structure. A little ways in, they could hear the chattering of anxious Grunts. “Romeo Company, be advised” a man’s voice came over the comm. “We have reports of Covenant suicide squads.” “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me…” someone said. “That’s a negative. Keep your eyes open, troopers.” With fate thoroughly tempted, Jess accidentally stepped on a piece of plastic, which crunched under his boot. A few seconds later, three Grunts ran around the nearby corner toward him and Teana, each wielding two active plasma grenades. Jess snapped his pistol up and fired two shots, taking out the two closest Grunts. Their grenades dropped and detonated, blowing the third Grunt into the ceiling and setting off its grenades. As the dust cleared, the Spartan pair moved on, activating their VISRs as the area darkened. At the bottom of the next staircase, a Grunt was shot down by Teana before it could draw its grenades. Another rounded the corner ahead, grenades alight, and was killed by Jess. Jess walked over to the first Grunt and grabbed three ammo crystals for his needler. “Kilo-26, this is Kilo-40” said the southern-accented voice, Jess’ & Teana’s armor systems identifying him as Gunnery-Sergeant Pete Stacker. “Covenant corvette’s rainin’ hell on us! Final Protective Fire-1, danger close, on my command, over!” “Copy, Kilo-40” the reply came. “FPF-1 at your command.” A few seconds, and then… “Fire FPF-1, over.” “Firing FPF-1… Shot.” “Hold on to your helmets!” The ground shook violently, and further down another staircase, another Grunt stepped out from a hallway, spotted the two Spartans, and was about to pull out a grenade when a pistol bullet took its life. The two Spartans jogged down the steps, reaching the entrance to the next little hallway. A Grunt at the other end saw them, dropped its Needler, and charged them while wielding a plasma grenade. Teana shot the live grenade in the alien’s hand, and the bluish-white explosion consumed the Grunt. They moved to the doorway of a room containing an elevator, and three Grunts dropped their weapons and charged, grenades ready. Three cracks sounded, and three Grunts fell, their grenades going off a second later. “Kilo-40,” 26 radioed, “request FPF sitrep.” “Negative, 26! Corvette’s still comin’!” “Copy, 40. Firing FPF-2… Shot.” The ground shook again just after Jess grabbed another clip of pistol ammo from a fallen marine. “Damn, how do ya stop that thing?!” Wary of the knowledge that nothing currently available could deal any meaningful damage to the enemy ships overhead, the two Spartans moved on. In the last room, on a higher level atop a zig-zagging staircase, a half-dozen Grunts saw their entry and charged, plasma grenades glowing. One well-placed shot from Teana set off a cataclysmic chain reaction that left the stairs melted and warped, while roasted Grunt giblets landed around the room. Fortunately, another stairway sat just to the left, and they made their way up, Jess grabbing three more Needler ammo crystals from the back of the room. They passed through another door, finding daylight and deactivating their VISR systems, and two civilians – a pair of businessmen still wearing their suits – were hiding inside a small alcove. Just outside, a Spirit hovered, its doors opened as its occupants fired at the Spartans, who took cover. They were a type of Covenant that Teana had never seen before, but she did recognize them, having read up on this particular species and looked at images of them and their gruesome handiwork. And the earlier civilian massacre now made sense. Jiralhanae. Brutes. The Spirit’s doors closed, and the craft flew away, seeking easier prey. Jess & Teana walked out into the open, and Jess looked left and fired a pair of pistol shots. The bullets blew through the skull of a Brute, and the lifeless alien dropped the civilian it had been holding up by the neck. Another Brute a little ways down fell to assault rifle fire from a trio of army troopers to the left. The troopers spotted the red-armored soldiers as they walked to go meet them. “We picked up some friendlies!” one shouted. “Spartans?” a female trooper said. “Where the hell’d they come from?” “Who cares? Spartans! Help us get these civvies through! Evac Team 7 to Kilo-2-6; we have eyes on Traxus Tower, and we’ve picked up a pair of Spartans.” “Copy, Team 7” Kilo-26 responded. “Move to assist the evac.” Teana fired at a Brute that was about to stomp-crush the skull of a fallen civilian. The bullet hit the Brute between the eyes, and it keeled over, the civilian man rolling to the side as the alien landed right where he’d been. Another Brute came around a tree to the left, and the two troopers crouched in a nearby corner opened fire with their assault rifles, blasting the low-ranked Brute’s unarmored chest. After half a clip each, the Brute went down, and the two linked up with the three troopers following the Spartans. A third Brute at the top of the nearby ramp fired its Spiker, and a trooper went down, a white-hot metal spike sticking out of his skull. He fell next to a civilian, a thin teen girl curled up behind a planter and wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt. Seeing an opportunity, she grabbed the fallen soldier’s pistol, leaned out, and fired, hoping she managed to hit the furry alien. The bullet tore into the Brute’s right shoulder, distracting the beast long enough for Jess to finish sneaking up on it. He slit the Brute’s throat from behind, and the courtyard was clear. “How do we get to the tower?” the female trooper questioned. “The elevator in the atrium goes down to the cargo port,” the fireteam leader responded, “and the cargo port goes to the tower.” Just then, the door that the humans were heading for opened. Jess tossed a grenade, killing the two Skirmishers and blowing the arm off one of the two Brutes. Assault rifle fire took down the maimed Brute, and pistol fire to the head from Teana killed the other one. The force of two Spartans and four army troopers move through, seven civilians following. At the top of some stairs, Teana pistol-whipped a surprised Grunt to death, and then blew the skull out of another. Jess entered the next area, a long area with a high roof, and starting picking off Grunts with his pistol. Teana summoned her other pistol and then switched to Rifle Mode, firing in single-shot mode at Brutes. After the Grunts went down, Jess took down a Brute with the pistol, and then stopped to grab a DMR leaning against a planter, along with two clips of ammo. Teana managed to blow off the helmet of the Brute Captain higher up, and took him down with an eye-shot. She grabbed a dropped frag grenade, storing it on her hip. She and Jess moved on, Jess holding the DMR while the needler and pistol magnetically hung onto his left and right hips, respectively. As they climbed the next stairway, they saw a pair of Skirmishers menacing some civilians. Teana rammed Mirage Rifle’s energy bayonet through one’s chest from behind, and Jess shot the other down with his pistol. A Brute leapt down from a nearby upper walkway, and Jess opened fire with his DMR, blowing its head-plate off and shooting it through the skull. Teana walked up to the elevator and hit the button. Several seconds passed, but no elevator showed up. “What the hell’s taking this thing so long?” the trooper team leader asked over the radio. “Uh, we’re evacuating a group of civilians on the floor below you” was GSgt. Stacker’s reply. “As soon as they reach the cargo port, I’ll send the elevator back up.” “Dropships!” another trooper called out, “They’re pulling into the courtyard; watch your flanks!” “Okay, everyone find some cover, stay sharp. We need to hold this position.” As the civilians took cover behind the open walls near the elevator, a Spirit flew overhead and came in to the courtyard on the left. It dropped off four Grunts, which were killed as soon as they landed by a frag grenade tossed by Jess. Two Brutes hopped out next, and Jess opened fire with his DMR, taking both down after several seconds. As the Spirit flew away, a Brute Captain charged toward him, wielding a Gravity Hammer. Jess grabbed his needler and fired; seven shards lodged themselves in the Brute’s armor and super-combined, peeling the armor back like a tin can and blowing open the Brute’s chest. Jess heard fire from behind him, and turned to see Teana shooting at a trio of Skirmishers making their way up the stairs to his right. Two of them went down, and a third tried to rush past her to get to the civilians, only for Teana to stick her left arm out at neck level, clothes-lining the Skirmisher. She then used a bayonet strike to finish off the downed enemy. Two Brutes came up the other stairway, and engaged the army troopers. One trooper went down, a plasma bolt searing through his face, and his comrades cut down the offending Brute. The other rushed forward and grabbed hold of another trooper, trying to kill him with its bare hands. Jess shot the Brute through the skull, and it dropped its prey. Another hammer-wielding Brute Captain charged up the stairs, and Jess again used his needler to kill it, the shards sticking into the Brute’s neck and blowing its head off. “Damn, Spartans!” the fireteam leader said appreciatively. “Glad you’re on our side!” Finally, the elevator arrived. Jess & Teana stepped in after he grabbed a few more ammo crystals for his needler, and the doors slid shut. A slight lurch, and the elevator began to descend. “If you’re tryin’ to get to the tower,” GSgt. Stacker radioed, “you’re too late, Spartans. Corvette over the starport pounded the hell out of the place. Cargo port’s impassable on foot; rooftop evacs are lost. We can use the executive landing pad, ‘cept there’s no easy way to get there. A group of ODST specialists are workin’ a plan; they might appreciate some backup.” “Other side of the hall, Spartans” said a marine as the door opened. “Right through triage.” They passed through a lobby filled with injured troopers, marines, and civilians, as light piano music played over the speakers. Up ahead, a trio of ODSTs hunkered down near an ammo crate. One fired an M41 rocket at a passing Banshee, but the angle of the craft’s approach and passing was too much for the warhead’s tracking systems to handle, and it shot off into the distance harmlessly. Too Close To The Sun Jess walked up to the ammo crate, grabbing three clips for his DMR. The ODSTs noticed them. “Radio’s buzzin’ about you, Spartans” one said, as he and another shock trooper headed right, the two Spartans following him as well. A light hop over a small gap, and they passed into a chain-fenced area. “You guys feel like jumpin’?” A gate opened, and Jess & Teana each grabbed a jetpack. “Welcome to the Bullfrogs” the ODST team leader said. “We’re gonna capture the landing pad on the executive wing so the evac birds can land. Try and keep up.” The Teana of 15 or so days ago would’ve responded with a snarky comment, but recent experiences had drained her of that for awhile, so she kept silent as she and Jess jetted across the gap. After a few minutes of platforming, the group reached a large area populated by Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes. As Teana took out several Grunts, Jess, while in midair, threw a frag grenade amongst a trio of Jackals. Just as his feet hit the ground, he heard and felt the thump on the level immediately above him, along with the screeches of the mortally wounded Jackals. He turned and went through a 180-degree stairway, coming out on the upper level just in time to take down a low-ranked Brute. The ODSTs and Teana landed, a shock trooper tossing a grenade that killed all but two of the remaining Grunts. A Brute Captain with a hammer came around a large storage crate, and the trio of ODSTs opened fire. The Brute closed in, and one of the troopers was smashed by the hammer before he could get away, as the other two jetted backward to safety. Jess blew the Brute apart with his needler, just as two more ODSTs came in for a landing. Jess and Teana then used rifle shots to pick off the Grunts and Brutes several yards away, soon clearing their current level of enemies. They and the four remaining ODSTs jetted up to the upper level, Jess heading to a catwalk on the right, using his DMR to kill a trio of Grunts while still airborne. The ODSTs began exchanging fire with four Brutes standing between them and their destination, led by a Captain wielding a concussion rifle. A plasma shell impacted an ODST in the jetpack, and he went rocketing out of control, smashing into a wall and then being consumed by the pack’s explosion, his mangled carcass falling to the ground. Jess and Teana focused fire on the Brute Captain, quickly overwhelming its armor and bringing it down. The other three Brutes roared in anger. Teana switched attachments and fired a 40mm grenade at them, killing one of them, while Jess used his needler to kill another one. The last one threw its plasma rifle aside and beat its chest, roaring a challenge and charging at the tall red-armored Spartan, shrugging off shots from the ODSTs’ assault rifles. Jess simply sidestepped and stuck his foot out, tripping the angry beast and causing it to faceplant. A knife strike to the back of the neck put it down for good. The path clear, the two Spartans and three ODSTs moved on into the next room, a tall multi-leveled area. Following a waypoint on their HUDs, they jetted up to the top level, following a short path to another outside area, where a few civilians cowered as two ODSTs exchanged fire with a pack of Grunts. A grenade from Teana took out most of the Grunts, with a rifle shot killing the last one. She then picked up a nearby rocket launcher and a spare pair of rockets, while Jess grabbed the last remaining spare DMR pack. The group moved out, the jetpack-wearers hopping up a level to a covered walkway that wrapped around a building. A Jackal with a focus rifle across the way spotted them and fired. Jess ducked, his shields drained by a third, and Teana peered through her rifle’s scope and shot the little bastard through the mouth. They moved down the walkway, finding at the end a sniper rifle and two extra magazines. Jess grabbed the rifle and got to work, killing a pair of Brute Captains and a Jackal (which took two shots due to the shield) and then ducking down to reload. As he reloaded, Teana poked out and fired at another Brute Captain, blasting through his helmet and killing him. She launched a 40mm grenade at a pair of Jackals, killing them, and Jess got back up. He fired at a pair of Grunts on a staircase at the far left, killing both with a single round. When the way was clear, Jess, Teana, and the two ODSTs with them hopped down, the civilians moving up behind them. They climbed a set of stairs and approached another, Jess using his needler to kill a surprise hammer-wielding Brute Captain. They moved up, Jess firing a sniper round at a concussion rifle-wielding Brute Captain up high, as Teana fired Mirage Rifle at some Grunts. Another trip up another flight of stairs, and they came across a bridge. A Falcon flew overhead, heading left while dodging fuel rod shots from a pair of Grunt Heavies at the other end of the bridge, and from an FRG Shade on the landing pad that the group was heading for. A near-miss took off one of the Falcon’s landing skids, and it sped away as fast as it could, outrunning the rest of the fuel rod shots. Jess opened fire on the Grunts with his DMR, killing the FRG-carriers first before turning his attention to the others. A pair of Jackals came from a door on the right, and Teana blasted them with a 40mm grenade. Two Brutes opened fire from an upper level, and Jess used his sniper rifle to kill them. Jess picked up two more clips of DMR ammo, and then he & Teana rushed forward. At the end of the bridge, Jess grabbed a fuel rod gun, giving his needler to Teana in favor of carrying two extra five-packs of fuel rod ammo. The pair went up a ramp to the left, using rifle fire to kill a Brute in the doorway ahead. They passed through, and found themselves overlooking the hall. Guarding the door was a Brute Chieftain, a fuel rod gun carried in his massive hands. Jess got into position and, just as the Chieftain spotted him, fired his own fuel rod gun. Three direct hits drained the Chieftain’s shields, and a fourth killed it. Teana used the needler to kill a pair of lesser Brutes and a white-armored Grunt, and then used Mirage Rifle to dispatch the rest. The two hopped down just as the ODSTs came in the front door, followed by the civilians. The two Spartans neared the door, Jess firing the current clip’s last fuel rod to kill a pair of Jackals, and then reloading. Outside, a pair of FRG Shades swept their barrels across the sky, looking for targets. Jess stepped out and fired three fuel rods at the one on the left, destroying it. This caught the other’s attention, and it turned to face him, Jess quickly running back inside and narrowly avoiding a shot. Teana ran out and fired a rocket at it, slagging the turret and its Grunt operator. Finally, the landing pad was secure. “Yankee-9 to Echo Dispatch” said a voice over the radio. “Landing pad is clear. Send in the evac birds.” “Copy, Yankee-9. Birds away.” “Pleasure jumpin’ with ya, Spartans" said the ODST team leader. “This is your ride” he gestured to a landing Falcon. Jess and Teana hopped aboard, taking the port and starboard machinegun turrets, as a Pelican came in to the landing pad, its rear door opening as the civilians ran toward it. I Should Have Become A Watchmaker “The city’s been under siege for the last five days” the Falcon’s pilot explained to the Spartans. “Thought we had it in hand, ‘til those corvettes showed up. Our fleet’s scattered, pullin’ back. We all got orders to evacuate; guess some of us just don’t like leavin’ a job half-finished…” “Evac transport Delta-15 to Evac Dispatch” the Pelican pilot reported as the last of the civilians climbed aboard. “Loaded up, ready to go!” “Delta-15, this is Evac Dispatch. Copy that. Proceed at your discretion.” “Midtown airspace is way too hot,” the Falcon pilot said, “we’re gonna take an alternate route.” The two Falcons and Pelican took off, one of the Falcons sticking with the dropship, while the one carrying the two Spartans headed the other direction. “Delta-15 to Dispatch,” the pilot’s voice now sounded a little worried, “Banshee squadron on my tail. Taking fire!” “Copy, Delta-15. Can you-” “Mayday! Port engines hit! We’re going in! I’m gonna try to set her down!” The damaged Pelican, by some stroke of luck, managed to touch down relatively safely, as its escort Falcon attacked the Banshees harassing it. The Spartans’ Falcon flew on, Jess opening fire on a hammer-wielding Brute Chieftain attacking a marine team as Teana shot at a Banshee, damaging it as it zoomed past her field of fire. The craft pulled out, trailing smoke from its port engine. The Falcon then descended, flying alongside a long covered walkway, and Jess took down another Hammer Chieftain. “Fox Actual to frigate Stalwart Dawn” said the voice of a man identified on the Spartans’ HUDs as Sergeant-Major Duvall. “Request immediate airstrike on Covenant corvette over starport.” “Solid copy, Fox Actual” replied the frigate’s Commander. “Longswords unavailable at this time.” Teana opened fire on two more Banshees, taking down one and damaging the other, which was promptly shot down by Jess once it passed into his firing range. “This is civilian transport 6-Echo-2. I need to go now, Sergeant-Major!” “Hold on, Echo-2. Stalwart Dawn, I have multiple personal craft loaded with civilians. I have got to get them out of this city. I need air support now!” “As soon as something frees up, you’ll be the first to-” “Not good enough!” The Falcon flew over a battle between a Warthog and two Wraiths. Jess and Teana pointed their turrets down, pounding the top of a Wraith. With fire from them and the Warthog, the tank soon went up in a ball of flue fire. The other one was soon out of the turrets’ range, though. “I’ve got 600 souls onboard, Sergeant-Major” said the evac ship’s pilot. “I can’t wait any longer!” “Negative, Echo-2! I can’t cover you! Do not take off!” “Damn it! I have no choice!” The Falcon’s occupants spotted a green civilian craft lifting off from the starport. It flew a few hundred feet… and a plasma torpedo from the above corvette hits the ship’s port engine. “By the Saint…” Teana muttered in horror, drowned out by the Falcon pilot’s equivalent “Oh my God!” “Mayday! Mayday!” “6-Echo-2, can you maintain altitude?” “Negative! We’re goin’ down!” Teana felt her heart sink as the burning transport nosedived into the ocean below them. Jess bit back a curse. “Son of a bitch…” their pilot gasped out. “I can’t watch this…” “Fox Actual,” said Evac Dispatch, “should we send search-and-rescue birds?” “Negative, Dispatch. There’s no point.” The Falcon flew in, approaching a beach. Jess fired on the Covenant fireteam harassing the army troopers, killing a Brute, two Jackals, and a Grunt. The Falcon flew in and set down, Jess & Teana hopping out and walking over to the team leader, an older black man. “I’m Sergeant-Major Duvall” the man said. “Awful day so far, eh? Let’s keep it from getting’ any worse. Covvies are all over the missile batteries, and I’ve got 5,000 civilians waitin’ for passage out. I need you two to arm those batteries and fire those missiles from the central terminals. Understood?” “Affirmative” the two chorused. “That corvette’s been a pain in my ass for too damn long. Give it hell, Spartans!” He turned to his soldiers. “Troopers! We need to push ‘em back off our beach!” Jess headed for a Warthog, hopping in the driver’s seat. Teana took shotgun, and Sgt-Maj. Duvall manned the M41. The Hog started up and drove around the boulder it was parked behind, easily dodging a Wraith mortar. “Civilian transport 7-Echo-3 to Fox Actual: my engines are hot, waiting for your go.” “Copy that, 7-Echo-3. Workin’ on it.” The Warthog drove over and through an open walkway, flattening a Grunt, and encountered a Wraith in the next area. Teana managed to hit the Grunt manning the turret, and Duvall opened fire with the big gun as Jess started driving in a circle around it. The Wraith tried to boost into them but missed, and Jess got behind it, allowing Duvall to fire the chaingun into its vulnerable rear section. Quickly, the tank went up in a burst of flame. The Warthog then drove up a slope, catching 10 feet of air as it hit the top, and almost literally ran into another Wraith. Despite the smaller space, Jess managed to get behind it, and Duvall repeated the earlier method, again destroying the target. The Hog then drove up to the area immediately surrounding the first missile battery, Duvall and Teana firing on the Brutes guarding it. A Brute with a hammer fell first, followed by one trying to cross a bridge carrying a concussion rifle. Jess and Teana hopped out, gunning down the others up close. Jess walked up to the battery and keyed in a three-digit code, arming the missiles. He and Tia then hopped back in the Warthog, which drove left. “This is 7-Echo-3; I need to go now, Sergeant-Major!” “Easy, 7-Echo-3. Spartans are gonna clear the skies.” The Warthog drove up to the stairs leading down to the second missile battery, Duvall using the M41 to tear apart the Grunts and lesser Brutes that rushed to meet them. Teana hopped out, switching Cross Mirage to a pistol and a sword. She carved her way through the Covenant, beheading a Brute and cracking a few Grunts’ skulls. She soon reached the second battery, entering the code and grabbing another two-pack of launcher rockets. “That’s it!” Duvall called. “Batteries primed! Now let’s get over to the east compound and fire those missiles!” “Sergeant-Major, the Covvies are almost through my door!” “Easy, Echo-3! That corvette is still up there!” Teana hopped back in the passenger’s seat, and Jess quickly drove the Warthog to the other end of the walkway, at the base of the stairs. A Spirit flew overhead, dropping off multiple Covenant troops at the upper stairs. Teana fired a rocket that killed a trio of Brute Captains just as they landed, and then reloaded her launcher. Duvall turned the big gun right, taking down a Ghost that was getting too close. Jess and Teana hopped out, charging up the steps. A trio of Grunts and a Jackal Major went down, and a Brute Captain was killed by two fuel rod shots from Jess. At the top of the final set of stairs, a hammer-wielding Brute Chieftain leapt at them. Jess fired the fuel rod gun, the three shots draining the Chieftain’s shields and wounding it. A sword strike from Teana finished it off. They hustled up the stairs, ducking to barely avoid a fuel rod shot from another Chieftain. Teana raised her launcher and fired, the round blowing the Brute in half. “That’s it!” Echo-2’s pilot radioed. “They’ve breached the landing bay!” “Copy that” Duvall replied. “It’s now or never, Spartans.” Jess and Teana hurried through the door and reached the console, and Jess hit the vital button. The batteries were ready to fire. “Missile defenses online” Duvall radioed. “All evac transports, you are cleared for takeoff! Repeat, you are cleared for takeoff! Go now!” The corvette overhead received a nasty surprise as half a dozen heavy missiles flew up to meet it. They hit dead-on, and the ship began venting flames from two spots. It turned and began flying back deeper into the city, away from the starport. A trio of green ships took the opportunity and put the pedal to the metal, lifting off and flying off toward the city’s outer borders. “Civilian transports away!” the lead ship’s pilot radioed. “You’ve saved a lotta lives today, Spartans!” As Jess and Teana walked to the beach's edge, a staticy voice came into hearing over their comms. It was Kat. “…you copy? Repeat: this is Noble-2. Noble-6, Noble-5, Noble-7, do you copy?” “This is Six” Jess responded. “Seven’s with me.” “We picked up your transponders about an hour ago, but could not risk open comms. Covenant have this city sealed tight. …We’re getting nothing from Jorge.” Teana’s head lowered. “He didn’t make it” Jess replied. “Stayed behind to detonate the slipspace bomb after its timer got fried.” “…Understood” Kat’s voice was bitter as she realized the futility of Jorge’s sacrifice. “What’s the situation at starport exit?” “The last transports are away” Teana responded. “Alright. We’re bringing you to us.” The comm. channel closed, and Jess tossed out a red flare, walking over to take a seat on a rock as he and Teana awaited their pick-up.

2011-02-20, 18:31	Link #29366
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Tried entering both chaps in one post, but it exceeded the 50,000-character mark. Spoiler for Chapter 9 - New Alexandria: CHAPTER 9 - NEW ALEXANDRIA Reach New Alexandria, Eposz August 23rd, 2552 Shortly after sunset The Pelican flew through the ruined city, passing by and between towers as the fires of burning buildings lit the night. Jess and Teana sat across from each other in the seats closest to the open rear door, looking out at the terrible spectacle. Jess shook his head, saddened by the destruction of such a beautiful city. Soon, the dropship neared its destination: a landing pad currently holding a pair of Falcons and a Hornet. The two Spartans got to their feet, Jess holstering a DMR and an assault rifle. The Pelican slowed, and hovered just above the platform. As soon as the pilot saw his instruments inform him of the sudden slight decrease in weight that signaled the Spartans’ departure, he took off again, starting his assignment to look for any surviving UNSC forces. Carter walked up to join Jess & Teana, putting an arm around the girl’s shoulders and walking them over to a waiting Falcon. “Your reports will have to wait” he told them. “Covenant are jamming all comms to command. Kat needs your help running a counter-op.” He paused, and said “It’s good to have you two back.” “Sorry we didn’t all come” Jess replied. “Make him proud.” He patted Teana on the shoulder and then turned toward the other Falcon. The girl walked over to the nearby Hornet. Fly By Night “Put your wings back on, you two” Kat contacted them. “You’re flying these birds.” Jess hopped in the Falcon’s cockpit, flipping the switches to ready the craft for takeoff. Its rotors began to spin, and two marines climbed aboard, manning the port and starboard machinegun turrets. Nearby, the Hornet’s VTOL jets came to life, Teana linking the craft’s targeting reticles to her HUD. The two craft rose straight up about 200 feet, and then leveled off as Kat contacted them. “The Covenant have deployed comm. jammers at the high-rises across the city. We can’t hear Holland, and he can’t hear us. When I find them, you hit them – hard.” Nearby, a burning skyscraper’s supports gave way, and it collapsed, burning bits of metal and stone plummeting to the ground far below. “Stand by,” Kat reported. “One of our trooper squads went missing after the hospital got hit. I’ll mark the location. Complete their mission, and take out that jammer.” A marker appeared on their HUDs, and the two Spartans started flying toward it. A curious Banshee got its wings blown off by a pair of rockets from the Hornet, and it plummeted to the streets. A barrage of chin-gun fire from the Falcon eliminated a Heavy Shade on a roof near the hospital, and one of the turret gunners took out a Grunt that tried to flee from next to the gun. The two craft then set down on the hospital landing pad, Jess & Teana hopping out and ordering the troopers to watch the ships. They entered through a sliding double-door, finding a pack of Grunts, all of them curled up and snoozing. Some knife-work quickly made their sleep permanent, and they then spotted the Engineer floating languidly in the center of the multi-leveled circular room, several panels on the spiky object it wore glowing violet; an overshield projector. A nod, and Jess opened fire with his assault rifle. The floating alien seemed to come apart under the fire, its spiked metal harness plummeting to the ground. Down below, they could hear Grunts scream in alarm, chattering away as they looked everywhere for a target. A Jackal spotted the two Spartans up above, pointed at them and called out. A rifle shot from Teana silenced it, but the jig was up. The next few minutes were spent fighting through Grunts and Jackals to reach the bottom. At the base level, a Brute Captain armed with a needle rifle guarded the passage to their objective. Focused fire took it down quickly, and Jess dropped his near-exhausted assault rifle for the needle rifle and three clips for it. He shouldered his DMR and peered around the corner. The hospital concourse was a tall, wide, long, slightly curving pathway. In the center, on a bridge, a pair of Brute Captains stood watch. Three low-rank Brutes were coming toward the Spartans. And at the other end of the room, a squad of marines engaged a trio of Brutes who were protected by another Engineer, the simian aliens guarding an odd-looking machine that had to be the jammer. Jess fired his DMR at the nearest Brute, and it toppled. The other went down via two bullets to the face courtesy of Teana. Jess then used his needle rifle, three shots each taking down the pair of Brute Captains on the bridge. The duo then ran up a ramp onto the bridge, Teana grabbing a dropped plasma repeater. By now the Engineer was in range, and she fired two three-round bursts from her device/rifle. The creature squealed and seemed to explode, and the faint violet glow surrounding the Brute trio guarding the jammer faded away. She switched to single-shot and shot one through the face. The second one got its skull ventilated by concentrated assault rifle fire from the four troopers, and the third tried to charge, only for one of the troopers to whip out a shotgun and blow its brains out as soon as it got close. Jess used his needle rifle to kill another Brute Captain below him, and the two Spartans then ran over to join the troopers. Jess hit a button on the jammer, and it exploded a few seconds later. “Noble-2 to Nobles 6 & 7,” Kat radioed, “I’m showing the hospital jammer offline. Nice work. As soon as you can, I need you back in the air. Wait… you’ve got incoming tangos!” “We got jumpers!” a trooper cried, pointing at a quartet of Elite Rangers heading for the group. The first one came in for a landing 10 meters away and opened fire with its plasma repeater. Teana returned the favor, the rapid-fire blue bolts taking down a good portion of the Elite’s shields. It tried to jet away, but Jess fired two DMR shots at its head. The first wore down the shields completely, and the second punched through its skull, and the dead Elite flew out of control into a wall. As the Spartans-led UNSC squad moved forward, two more Elites came up, one with a needle rifle and the other with a carbine. A shot from the latter killed one of the troopers, and as it tried to jet away Jess threw a plasma grenade at it. The grenade stuck to the Elite’s hip, and went off as it was in midair, blowing the alien in half. Teana switched Cross Mirage to dual plasma-bolt mode, and she quickly brought the Elite carrying the needle rifle to its knees as plasma bolts ate their way through its shields and armor. A knife strike from Jess finished it off. The teen Spartan then charged the fourth Elite, dodging plasma bolts and switching Mirage’s right pistol to Longsword Mode. She fired plasma bolts from Mirage’s left-hand gun as she went, and when she got in close she dispelled her left gun, gripped the sword handle in both hands, and swung down, bisecting the Elite from head to waist. She then re-summoned her other pistol and switched back to Rifle Mode. Jess gave an appreciative whistle at her handiwork, and the two moved to the entrance to the tall circular room from earlier. In it, a pair of red-armored Skirmishers stood at the top of the first set of stairs, and they were quickly killed by Jess’ needle rifle. The concussion-rifle-wielding Elite Ultra was a bit more of a problem. It dodged a plasma grenade thrown by Teana, and fired two shots at her. The first struck her in the chest like a hammer, draining her shields by 60% and knocking her off her feet. The second one sailed clear over her, passing through where her head had been when she was standing a second ago. Jess opened fire with his DMR from the hip, firing as fast as the rifle would allow. The Elite’s shields flickered but held, and the alien roared in indignation. As it prepared to charge him, it suddenly fell to the ground as Teana grabbed hold of its right ankle and yanked its foot out from under it. The troopers, by now having caught up, rushed in and poured assault rifle fire into the downed alien, quickly draining its shields and filling its chest with decidedly unhealthy little extra metal bits. The creature exhaled air from shredded lungs and died. One trooper helped the smaller Spartan to her feet, handing her Mirage, who she accepted with a nod of thanks. The room clear, the two Spartans bid farewell and headed up the levels (Jess making sure to strip the two Skirmishers of needle rifle ammo). Quickly they reached the top and exited back outside, finding their aircraft still being guarded by the two troopers, who responded to the Spartans’ return by getting back in the Falcon’s turrets. Jess & Teana climbed back into the cockpits of their respective craft, and rose up several dozen meters. A Covenant ship roared by overhead, looking somewhat like a battlecruiser except a little smaller, and having only two downward-pointing ‘fins’ underneath the nose instead of four. COVENANT YERNO-CLASS CRUISER – 1,500 meters The ship took position over another portion of the city several kilometers away. A high, charging whine accompanied a buildup of light at a single point on the cruiser’s underside, and then a red beam shot straight down from it, vaporizing a portion of the city and sending a surge of superheated plasma billowing out from the epicenter, consuming several buildings. “Command:” a voice came over the radio, “this is Gunnery Sergeant Buck, 11th ODST, over.” “Copy, Gunnery-Sergeant” Kat replied. “Go ahead.” “Need escort on a classified op. Someone who can fly a tight formation.” “Solid copy. Noble-6 and Noble-7 will escort you.” A waypoint appeared on the two Spartans’ visors, pointing to a high tower 315 meters west. They reached it quickly enough, and another Falcon rose from it, a pair of ODSTs manning its grenade-launcher turrets. The next five minutes were rather hectic, as Banshees appeared left and right, being shot out of the sky by rockets, bullets, and high-velocity grenades. Finally, after a 1200-meter journey, the escorted Falcon came to a landing atop a square-roofed building on the edge of the city. “I appreciate the help, Spartans” Buck contacted them. “I’ll see you in Hell…” “Mayday! Mayday!” a panicky voice came over the radio. “7-Delta-1-9 to any UNSC forces!” “What’s your status, 1-9?” Kat replied. “We found the jammer, but we’re getting’ hit hard! Request immediate assistance! Sinoviet Center is-” the transmission cut off with a cry of pain. “You still with me, 1-9? 7-Delta-1-9, do you copy?” Silence. “Six, Seven, I’m uploading coordinates now. Get to Sinoviet Center. Help those troopers if you can, but get that jammer offline either way.” On the flight, half a dozen Banshees caused various amounts of trouble. Thankfully, they didn’t all show up at once, and they were dealt with. A Phantom got in their way as well, and Jess & Teana focused fire on the two fins that stuck out of the rear of the vessel. These turned out to be parts of the anti-grav generators, and a chain reaction disabled them; the dropship then dropped like a 300-ton rock, its occupants experiencing a brief several seconds of free-fall before their lives ended messily on impact with the ground. At the Sinoviet Center tower, a pair of Shades guarded the entrance; they were blown to scrap by a few salvos of missiles from Teana’s Hornet. She then flew the craft in low, opening fire on the Grunts and Jackals massed on the stairs that led up into the tower proper. The stairs ran blue and purple with alien blood. Jess brought his Falcon in for a landing on the pad, while Teana parked her smaller Hornet at the base of the stairs. They worked their way up the stairs, trying not to slip and fall on the gore, and soon reached the room, stopping in front of a holo-statue of a UNSC frigate. They both ducked for cover as a focus rifle opened up on them. After a few seconds, Teana ran to the right, drawing the Jackal marksman’s fire and allowing Jess an opportunity to shoot it in the head with his DMR. At the top of the next set of stairs, a trio of low-rank Brutes awaited the two Spartans. One was taken down before it could draw its red plasma rifle, but the other two opened fire with their Spikers. Teana stuck a plasma grenade to one of them, nailing its chest and vaporizing a sizeable portion of its torso. The other one got three needles to the face that promptly made its head asplode. A Brute Captain at the top of the last, winding set of stairs fired its concussion rifle down at the Spartans, but the Spartans dodged the shots due to the distance. Jess fired two needle rifle rounds, but the Brute locked down its armor, the shots ricocheting off the crackling white field of the crouched Brute. As soon as it unlocked its armor, three needle rifle shots quickly buried themselves into its neck before it could respond, decapitating it. “Noble-6, Noble-7,” Kat contacted them, “I’m still getting nothing from those troopers. You may have to deal with the jammer yourselves.” They made their way up the stairs, soon reaching a pair of elevators. They got in one, hitting the button, and jazz music played over the speakers during their brief trip up. They reached their destination, to find dead army troopers all over the place, the wooden floor stained with red blood. They walked through the grisly and eerily silent floor, soon finding the jammer. Teana hit the button, and the jammer folded up, whined, and exploded. As they made their way out, however, a buzzing sound could be heard. “It’s a trap!” Teana shouted, and the two Spartans legged it through the corridors, dodging plasma fire from a dozen angry Drones. They reached the elevator, Jess punching in the ‘face’ of a Drone that tried to join them, and rode down to the opening floor. They hopped down the levels and stairs, reaching their parked aircraft and hopping in, soon getting a few hundred feet up. Overhead, another Covenant cruiser roared past, taking position a few kilometers away. The earlier spectacle was repeated, only this time is was louder and brighter due to the ship’s closeness. A strong wind – the shockwave of the blast –made the Spartans have to briefly wrestle with the control sticks, but quickly died down. “Six, Seven,” Kat radioed, “we’re getting reports of Elites and Engineers trying to break into the Misriah Complex. Take them out.” It was a short and, mercifully, uninterrupted flight to a nondescript building with MISRIAH printed on the side in 10-foot-tall letters. On the roof, a quartet of Elites fumbled with a door, having failed to brute-force their way through, as two Engineers floated nearby. A barrage of rockets from Teana’s Hornet sent them to the afterlife. “4-Charlie-2-7 to Command” a man’s voice said over the radio. “Request immediate assistance.” “Go ahead, 2-7” Kat replied. “We’re at the Vyrant Telecom tower! Got Hunters between us and the jammer!” “Copy, 2-7; help is on the way. Six, Seven, I’m sending you coordinates for the Vyrant tower. Go get those troopers unstuck. This is the last jammer, guys; we’re almost there.” To the Spartans’ pleasant surprise, the NAV point highlighted a large tower that was right next to the one they currently hovered over, and it took them only five seconds to reach it. The landing pad and the exterior entrance were highlighted in neon light, and a pair of FRG Shades opened up on the two craft. They dodged to and fro, returning fire with their machineguns until the turrets were scrap. Jess’ Falcon flew into the alcove, and his turret gunners opened up on the Covenant foot soldiers up-close. When the area was clear, he flew back out a little and landed on the helipad, while Teana again landed her smaller craft closer to the door. The two Spartans passed through two sets of sliding doors, and reached a large, open area. It was a club, with a spacious dance floor on the lower level, overlooked by a DJ booth. At the top of a set of ramps across the room sat the Covenant comm.-jamming device. Two Hunters stood guard at the tops of the ramps leading up to it, and down on the bottom floor another pair traded fire with a trooper fireteam hunkered down behind some tables and columns. Fitting for a dance club, the Hunters occasionally shuffled back and forth to try and get a better angle, inadvertently dancing to a faint techno beat playing over the speakers. Jess headed for a balcony on the left, pulled out his needle rifle, and focused on the small spot of exposed orange on a Hunter’s back. He opened fire, and the first three needles embedded in the Hunter’s flesh. The blast blew off the massive alien’s back armor, exposing its ‘spine’. Two more three-needle blasts brought the beast down. The other Hunter was too preoccupied with shooting at the humans to notice its bond-brother’s fate, and quickly fell to the same attack. The other two, however, had seen Jess’ actions, and fired a pair of explosive incendiary capsules at the two Spartans. One bolt hit where Jess had been, melting the waist-height glass barricade. The other sailed over Teana’s head by about six feet, the energy bleed causing a barely-noticeable decrease in her shields. Realizing that the same trick wouldn’t work again, Jess leapt down to the bottom, Teana following half a second later. Jess ran to the center of the dance floor, finding a dead trooper lying next to a rocket launcher. He picked up the launcher and used the bullfighting method to get behind the nearest Hunter, blasting it in the back. Against all odds, the alien survived, but its component Lekgolo were starting to unravel. Another shot quickened the process, and burnt pieces eel-worm things littered the floor. Teana charged the other Hunter, switching Cross Mirage to Longsword Mode. She rolled underneath a horizontal shield swipe, got to her feet, and swung sideways with all her might. She was rewarded with her foe falling to the ground in two pieces. The upper half tried to raise its cannon, and she responded by jamming a frag grenade in its ‘face’, rolling away to avoid the blast. “Thanks, Spartans” the relieved fireteam leader said, “we were almost out of ammo. Jammer’s on the upper level.” Jess walked up the ramps, reaching the jammer and permanently disabling it. “Well done, Spartans” Kat said over the radio. “Head back to your birds and await further orders.” The duo exited the nightclub, walking over to their air vehicles. Last One Out… Turn Out The Lights “Noble-2 to Noble Leader” Kat said over the TEAMCOM. “All jammers are down.” “Solid copy, Noble-2” Carter’s voice replied. “New orders: all personnel are to be evacuated from ONI HQ. Say confirm?” “Confirm, ONI tower evac-” A sudden burst of static and a grunt of pain interrupted the broadcast. “Noble-2!” Carter shouted. “Noble-2! Sitrep!” “Covvies are hitting the HQ in force! They must’ve zeroed my signal!” “Get that evac started!” “Roger that! Noble-6, Noble-7, get over here and cover our evac Pelicans! I need you overhead now!” A waypoint marker highlighted Olympic Tower, 1,200 meters away, and the two aircraft sped there with great haste. Aside from a lone Banshee, the path was clear. They soon saw why: all the Banshees in the area were attacking the tower, along with a quartet of Phantoms. A trio of Banshees spotted the newcomers and broke off to attack them. They were scrapped before their pilots could even blink. “Command, this is Whiskey-35” a Pelican pilot radioed. “I’ve got eyes on six long-range Shade turrets in the vicinity of the ONI tower. They’re makin’ life pretty hard on our evac birds.” “Copy, Whiskey-35” Kat responded. “Six, Seven, take out those Heavy Shade turrets.” The two craft flew in, guns blazing, shooting down two Banshees flying guard over a Heavy Shade. Two pairs of rockets from the Hornet scrapped the turret. The pair moved on, dodging shots, and Teana’s Hornet covered Jess’ Falcon as it descended a little and blasted a Heavy Shade on a lower rooftop. “Whiskey-35, you are cleared to proceed with evac” Kat radioed, and one of the three Pelicans awaiting takeoff from the tower flew off into the night, shooting down a Banshee as it went. The Falcon and the Hornet continued on, and got bogged down by Banshees for a bit. As they engaged the hostiles trying to slag them, Kat radioed in. “Noble, we need that evac path cleared. Shade turrets are priority one.” “No offense, ma’am,” Jess replied, “but I think ‘priority one’ is making sure we don’t get blown out of the sky by the swarm of Banshees guarding the turrets before we can take out the turrets.” Another minute in, and two more Heavy Shades were gone, and Whiskey-36 completed its escape. A bit more aerial skirmishing, and the last two Heavy Shades were gone. Whiskey-37 flew off into the night, and the Covenant air forces fell back, vacating the airspace around the tower. “Excellent work, you two” Kat contacted them. “I’m extending a landing platform. Come home, guys.” Jess & Teana brought their flyers in to a landing pad that extended from the side of the building. -SCENE BREAK- “Look at this place” Jun sighed as he peered through his binoculars at the devastation. “Used to be the crown jewel. Not anymore.” He then noticed the two red-armored Spartans walking in. “Hey! You made it!” “It’s a regular family reunion…” a rather depressed-sounding Emile said. Teana reached for Jorge’s tags, but Emile stopped her. “Keep them. You were closest to him, and he gave ‘em to you. I’ll honor him my own way.” “Jorge always said he’d never leave Reach…” Jun said wistfully. Emile chuckled. “Yeah, the big man was sentimental…” “He gave his life thinking he’d just saved the planet” Carter replied as walked over to the window. “We should all be so lucky.” “Sir,” Jun turned to Carter, “is it true about Gauntlet, Red, and Echo Teams being assigned to civilian evac ops?” Carter turned to Kat. “Those are senior-level communiqués.” “I hear what I hear” she responded. “Point is, why put Spartans on defensive deployment?” “I need that link to SATCOM, Kat.” “Chasing it, but this console has more shrapnel in it than transceivers. …You didn’t answer my question.” “You want to know if we’re losing?” “I know we’re losing. I want to know if we’ve lost.” There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds, which was interrupted by a series of beeps. “Colonel Holland” Kat said with surprise. “Hailing us! What’s he doing on an open channel?” “Let’s hear it” Carter replied as he walked over to her. Static resolved into the voice of their CO. “…in the southwest quadrant of the city, over? Sierra-2-5-9, if you are receiving, I am authorizing override of radio security protocols to link with this channel.” “How long for a secure link?” Carter asked. “Can’t guarantee secure anymore” Kat replied. “Could the Covenant trace it to us?” “I could…” “Noble-Leader, this is a Priority One hail. If you are receiving, acknowledge immediately.” Kat picked up the communicator, handing it to Carter. “Keep it brief.” As Carter conversed with the Colonel, Jun snapped to attention as something caught his eye. “We’ve got movement. Multiple Covenant vehicles vacating the area… and they’re in a hurry.” “Got a bad feeling about this” Teana muttered. Considering what happened the last time she said this, the others were on edge. “Radiation flare!” Kat announced. “Big! 40 million roentgens!” “I just lost Holland” Carter turned to her. “What’s goin’ on?” “Atomic excitement scrambled the signal. 90 million now!” “Source?” “Airborne. Close!” “How close?” Less than 1,000 meters away, a pillar of red light shot down from the sky. A massive shockwave hit, shattering the windows and knocking everyone off their feet. “That close!” The team rushed to the two waiting elevators; Carter, Emile, and Jun got in one, while Kat, Jess, & Teana entered the other. As the doors closed, Kat went for the button, but missed, her vision still flashing from the blast. She tried again, and the elevator began to descend. “First glassing?” she asked as she looked at the other two while donning her helmet. “Me too. Don’t worry; I’m on it. Our best option is a fallout bunker in Sublevel 2, 96 meters northeast. We get orders from Holland, sir?” “We’re being redeployed to Sword Base” Carter replied. “Sword?!” Jun exclaimed. “The Covenant own it now!” “Which is why they want us for a torch-and-burn op; keep Doctor Halsey’s excavation data from falling into enemy hands.” “If it hasn’t already” Kat replied, as the first elevator reached the bottom, Carter, Emile, & Jun rushing out and across the destroyed room toward the bunker. Behind them, the second elevator opened, and its three occupants followed close behind, Kat leading. “Maybe,” Carter said, “but according to Holland, the Covenant are still hunting for something.” “Where does he get off calling a demolition op Priority O-” A thin particle beam shot down from above, fired from a hovering Phantom’s open side door. It hit the back top of Kat’s helmet and exited through her lower jaw. She was dead before she hit the ground. “Kat!!!” The Spartans immediately turned their rifles on the Phantom, opening fire in the hopes of revenge as Jess & Teana dragged Kat’s limp form into the bunker. The Phantom escaped, the shooter unharmed. Teana frantically checked her fallen sister, but when she got a closer look her heart sank, and tears welled up in her eyes. All the while, the civilians panicked. “Close the door! Faster!” “What’s happening?!” “The Spartan’s dead! They lied! They said Spartans didn’t die! They said Reach was safe! They lied! We’re all gonna die!!” “Mommy!” “I’m here, baby. It’s okay. It’s okay.” As the Phantom flew off into the night, the elite Kig-Yar mercenary marksman known as Yik the Man-Slayer used his knife to carve another little notch in his beam rifle’s barrel, congratulating himself on a most prestigious kill.

2011-02-20, 20:19

Link #29367

00-Raiser

Burst Mode

Author

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: Windsor, Ontario

Age: 37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaijo

Forgive the double-posting, but here's the second half of the chapter:

Spoiler for Future Tense, Chapter 33: A Matter of Time, part 2:

Might have been more errors, but honestly I glossed over most of it. Just didn't find the battles all too interesting in text format. I'd have prefered you put more dialogue during those scenes instead.

I have problems with Vivio's Doomsday solution on Deville. Worked on Doomsday because he can't fly, but Deville can fly and should have been able to use that to prevent or at least slow the free fall. Or he could have, ya know, teleported out of the hold, or teleported with Vivio somewhere for a softer landing.

Really think Isis being around with that cure is too convenient. And the Nanoha and Hayate matched felt like it was lacking. Her power up wasn't out of nowhere since you alluded to it before, but it still felt like it was over too quick and easily. Though I guess with the way you set it up, there wasn't much of a choice. Why did Nanoha allow Hayate to get up a double layered sheild in the first place? The key to taking on Hayate is to not let her get through a chant.

Well, it's nothing all too major, I guess. Rather than have you go back and fix that, I'd like to see how you proceed from here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin_Brett

Also, this part:

"Fate knew how obsessed Yuuno had become with bringing Nanoha back; that was also a reminder of her own mother, trying to bring back Alicia, which Fate knew was wrong. Even though that had resulted in her own birth, there were laws against it for a very good reason."

It's too bad this story isn't really gray, because she totally has a point there.

Hm, that kinda brings up something else. If Yuuno was so obsessed with bringing Nanoha back, would he have gone on to marry Fate? Or did he try to move on, but after awhile he then became determined to bring her back?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yasanagi

Spoiler for A bit late but here's more MD:

Heh, nice bit.

Fun fact: sugar does not cause hyperactivity. However parents' misconception about this makes them report hyperactivity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yasanagi

Spoiler for Another MD interlude scene:

Vivio doesn't refer to her friends with '-san' (except Einhart). Other than that, I'd think that Vivio should have met Thoma from before since she's so friendly with the Nakajimas.

Guess she got her eye fetish from her mom, eh?

And to finish off this post, I've uploaded Worst Case Senario to FF.net.

__________________

2011-02-20, 20:45	Link #29368
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Here's the last bit of the Reach section of Book 1. If I double-post again, it means that two chapters combined exceeded 50K 'characters'. Again. Spoiler for Book 1 Chapter 10 - The Package: THE PACKAGE: Reach Sword Base, Babd Catha Ice Shelf (now melted/vaporized), Eposz August 29th, 2552 The sky was red, and was filled with the sounds of distant combat. The angular form of Sword Base stood, a shadow of its former glory, large pieces missing and smoke billowing from the holes. The ground, once green with life, was a dull reddish-brown, blasted and cracked, and dust was stirred about by the hot winds. The past week had been Hell. The UNSC had put up more of a fight than ever before. Even Reach itself seemed to come to their aid; a hurricane had battered Covenant ships, as tornadoes tore through alien armored columns. A Covenant corvette stupid enough to park directly over a volcano had gotten blasted by a geological cannon of superheated rock and ash, taking it down. Everyone and everything pitched in, but it wasn’t enough. Humanity was losing. And Reach was dying. “Noble-1, this is Noble-Actual” Col. Holland’s voice came over the radio. “Noble-1?” “Go ahead” Carter replied. “We need that base taken out, son. What’s your status?” “Still outside. Thermal on the interior shows standing-room only. We’ve gotta clear them out or we’ll be way too popular.” “Copy that, Noble-1. Holland out.” Jess and Teana leapt over a rock, meeting a trio of ODSTs. “Six, Seven,” Carter contacted them, “are you two in position?” “Affirmative” Jess replied. “Good. Execute.” Torch and Burn The team of five approached the rock edge, looking across the shallow water at the battered building of Farragut Station. A Shade sat atop its roof, another was a few hundred feet to the right, and behind the building was a deployable Covenant lookout tower. “The Covenant own this sector now,” Carter radioed, “but they’re defending for a major strike, not a small-group infiltration. Eliminate all hostile anti-air defenses so the rest of Noble can land at Sword Base for the torch-and-burn. Keep a low profile; if we take ‘em by surprise, this will be a hell of a lot easier.” Jess shouldered his DMR, and picked his target. It was outside the targeting reticle’s red-zone, but he knew it would still hit. The Jackal sniper on the lookout tower collapsed, a hole blown through its neck. Three-fourths of a second later, the Grunt manning the rooftop Shade keeled over in its seat, a bullet having blown through its brain. Teana calculated trajectory, aimed, and fired a 40mm grenade at the other turret. The high-speed cylinder beaned the gunner in the head and detonated a split-second later; blue blood splattered across the gun’s controls. The two Spartans leapt into the water and sprinted across, the ODSTs following close behind. They quickly reached the building, setting up in it just in time for a pack of Grunts to come over the hill, the leader carrying a fuel rod gun. A trooper used his BR55 rifle to shoot a spare fuel rod pack hanging from the Grunt’s waist, and a green explosion consumed the alien and its weapon. The other Grunts panicked at this, and were quickly cut down. An explosion hammered into the side of the building, as another FRG-carrying Grunt near the far turret opened up. Jess ran out and shot it in the neck with his DMR, killing it. The coast was clear, and Jess rode the grav-lift into the tower, grabbing the focus rifle he found before hopping back down to join the others. “Kat was right” Emile said over the TEAMCOM. “This does seem like overkill, sending us out here for a simple demo op.” “ONI thinks it’s worth it” Jun replied. “That should tell you somethin’.” “It tells me things ain’t so simple.” The squad moved through a pathway, and soon spotted something that lifted their spirits a little: hidden behind a boulder was an M808B ‘Scorpion’ Main Battle Tank, undamaged and ready for action. Jess hopped in the driver’s seat, pulling the hatch down. Teana climbed aboard and got in the machinegun turret cupola, and the ODSTs perched themselves on the treads. The tank came to life, its engine growling and rumbling, and the 66-ton war machine rolled out from its hiding spot. Immediately, plasma bolts impacted it, the heavy ceramic-titanium armor shrugging off the blows. The turret swiveled right, and fired. A deafening bang sounded (the five occupants’ hearing protected by their helmets’ systems), and a Covenant lookout tower fell to the ground in pieces. The tank rounded a boulder, blasting a Shade turret and another lookout tower. A Ghost up ahead opened fire, but the Grunt pilot missed his shots; Jess’ return shot, however, did not, slagging the vehicle and sending shrapnel flying in all directions, one piece killing another Grunt behind a nearby rock. The Scorpion moved up a little, and Teana fired the machinegun turret at an Elite, cutting it down, as the ODSTs opened fire on the Grunts. From the next slops came a Ghost, which was blown to scrap by the Scorpion’s gun. Then another Ghost, and another, both meeting the same fate. The Scorpion rolled up the rocky slope, a part of a Ghost crunching beneath its treads. Around the next corner, the first of two Covenant ‘Tyrant’ AA guns stood, occasionally firing a three-round burst off into the distance. At this range and this angle, it was no problem. Jess opened fire with the Scorpion’s cannon, aiming for the glowing rear of the AA gun. After seven shots, the AA gun’s alarm began to sound, and several seconds later it exploded. The tank moved up and hung a right around the boulder, the second AA gun now in range. A 90mm explosive shell obliterated a quartet of Jackals, and Teana poured MG fire into an approaching Ghost, hitting something vital. The hover-sled dropped to the ground, a low whine accompanying the failing engine, and a short burst killed the Grunt who’d been driving it. A squadron of six Banshees flew past, and two of them broke off to engage the tank. A well-aimed cannon-shot blew one out of the sky, and the second one’s pilot panicked and fired a fuel rod bolt. The shot missed by a large degree, and Teana returned fire with the MG, hitting a fuel cell. The craft went up in a ball of blue flame. The tank then turned its attention to the other gun and fired several times, and the gun responded by going up in gouts of flame. It was at this point that Jess & Teana recognized the current area as the site of the UNSC anti-air gun they’d activated way back during the first battle around Sword Base. “Nice job, you two” Carter radioed. “Falcons, commence descent. We’ll meet you inside the base.” A pair of Falcons flew overhead, one of them – containing the rest of Noble Team – firing grenades at the few Covenant who’d survived the guns’ explosions. The other, carrying machinegun turrets, opened up on a quartet of Banshees, and Jess lent the Scorpion’s fire to the cause, bringing the flyers down. He moved on, steering around boulders and Banshee bits, reaching a slightly curved path and firing at a Covenant lookout tower, bringing it down in two hits. “This is Noble Team” Carter radioed. “Falcons have landed; hostiles engaged. Jun’s working on getting the gate open.” “Really missing Kat right about now…” Jun said. A trio of Ghosts came one-by-one over a small hill, each being slagged by the Scorpion’s gun before their hapless Grunt pilots could finish processing just what they were up against (they had been expecting foot soldiers, maybe a Warthog, not a huge tank). The tank rolled on through, soon encountering the area just outside Sword Base. A flock of Falcons and Hornets were engaged with a trio of Revenants, a few Banshees, and four Shade turrets – two plasma and two fuel-rod. A Scorpion shell destroyed the nearest FRG Shade, and another scrapped the closest Revenant. Jess rolled the vehicle forward a bit, looking left and up to blast the other FRG Shade, as Teana fired to the right at a nearby plasma Shade, killing its operator and ruining its gun barrels. Another tank shot destroyed a Revenant up ahead, while a Hornet scored a few missile strikes on the last plasma shade, taking it out of commission. The Scorpion began to roll up the final slope, and the third Revenant slid into view. Jess reacted faster than the Covenant mini-tank’s pilot did, and the bulbous red craft erupted into flames, allowing the Scorpion to roll uncontested up to the gate. After several seconds of Banshee-blasting, the gate opened with a series of clanks. Jess and Teana hopped out of the tank, and one of the ODSTs took Jess’ place in the driver’s seat, another hopping into the turret. The tank reversed, spun around, and drove back down, seeking to do some good elsewhere. The two red-armored Spartans ran through the gate and headed up the paved slope. Latchkey “Tangos!” Emile’s voice shouted. “Comin’ over the pad!” “Head for the garage!” Jun said “Double-time it, you two!” Carter ordered to Jess & Teana. “Come on!” The two reached the top, Jess readying the focus rifle. Teana raced ahead of him, tackling a blue-armored Elite from behind and knocking it to the floor. She picked up a jagged shard of metal from the ground nearby and drove it into and through the alien’s neck. The red-armored Elite a little ways away spotted this and roared, only to be interrupted by the beam of the focus rifle burning through its shields and then its chest. Jess readied his DMR and starting shooting the Grunts, now panicking without their leaders, as Teana switched Mirage to rifle mode full-auto, killing the two Grunts manning plasma turrets at the entrance to the garage nearby. Several meters away, Emile fired a shotgun point-blank into an Elite’s chest, overloading its shields and shredding its hearts and lungs. Carter tossed a grenade amongst a small pack of Jackals, and the four avian aliens were ripped apart. Jun put down a Grunt with a rifle butt to the skull. They then spotted Jess & Teana and ran over to join them. Noble Team then descended the ramps, Jess stopping to rip a plasma turret from its hinges and take it with him. Carter fiddled with the elevator, to no avail. “We’ll have to go through maintenance” he said. “Elevator’s out.” “The way this place been done,” Emile replied, “we’re lucky anything still works.” They entered a side door, Jess leading with his plasma turret, and walked up a ramp. To the right was a multi-level room with a catwalk that rounded its way up to the top. The path was crawling with Jackals. Jess opened fire on the nearest two, cutting them down with the plasma turret; even though the turret could easily wear through their shields, he knew he only had 200 shots in the gun, so he used his hand-then-head method to great effect, using only 11 shots. Carter and Teana each shot one of the two Jackal marksmen further up, and the team moved on. The next four or so minutes were spent working their way past Jackals, and by the time they reached the top Jess’ plasma turret was down to 68 rounds. They entered the hallway that led to the office buildings, now lit red by emergency lights. They rounded the corner and neared the next door. “Where’re we going now, boss?” Jun asked. “Dot?” “Please proceed to the prearranged coordinates” was the AI’s reply. “Cryptic…” Emile scoffed. “You know as much as I do, Noble-4” she said, as the door opened. At the far end hovered an Engineer, which Jess shot down on instinct. On cue, a quartet of ripples in the air moved… and opened fire. Jess’ plasma turret took down three of the cloaked Elites, exhausting its power in the process. He dropped the useless gun as Teana opened up at a shimmer in the air. She was rewarded by the last Elite growling and flaring into visibility, and massed fire from the five Spartans quickly brought it down. At the top of a ramp on the other end of the room, an Elite General stepped into view, holding a concussion rifle. Jess zoomed in and blasted it with the focus rifle, stunning it. The shields gave just as the focus rifle stopped to vent excess heat, and a rifle shot from Carter killed the ornate-armored alien. The five Spartans made their way up the ramp, Emile taking point, and followed their coordinates to a door. Jess hit the switch, and the door opened to reveal a squad of dead army troopers, lying amongst hundreds of spent shell casings. Dead Covenant were piled up near another door. “Looks like they got themselves cornered” Jun remarked. “Or were committed to the position” Carter added. Emile walked forward, stepping into a dead-end hall. “I’m goin’ with cornered” he said. “There’s nothing here.” “No load-bearing columns, either” Jun continued. “Sir, if we’re supposed to blow this place, this ain’t the spot to do it from.” “Dot, check your vector” Carter ordered as he accessed his TACPAD. “Vector confirmed, Commander” Dot replied. “We are precisely where ONI has directed-” she stopped, and then spoke again. “Apologies. Coordinates revised. Please confirm?” “Revised?” “By an AI of unknown origin, whose clearance is well above my own.” “Well,” Jun said, “it’s pointing us a klick and a half east and 2,000 feet underground.” “I didn’t bring my shovel, Commander” Emile snarked. “Sir,” Jun continued, now sounding annoyed, “I say we go AI-free on this one. Obviously, these coordinates are junk, and the longer we go chasing them-” He was cut off by a sudden grinding noise. Everyone raised their weapons, pointing toward a wall that was now sliding sideways, revealing a hidden passageway. “What is this, Dot?” “Our revised route, Commander.” Teana stared for a few seconds, and then shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, why the hell not…” “Alright” Carter sighed. “We came this far…” The group passed through, staying alert as the sliding wall/door sealed behind them. They came upon a tram, cautiously stepping in. “Your new AI friend tell you anything else, Dot?” Carter asked. “…Dot?” “…She’s been expecting you” was Dot’s reply, as the doors slid shut and the tram began to move. “That’s perfect…” Emile sighed. Suddenly, a holo-screen snapped into vision on the forward window. In it was a familiar face, and the Spartans felt surprise at seeing this person alive. “Apologies for the unusual security measures, Commander,” Dr. Halsey said, “but the stakes demand it.” “Dr. Halsey?” Carter was a little shocked. “Casualty reports have you listed as-” “Yes, well,” she interrupted, “news of my death has been exaggerated. I only wish the same could be said for Jorge and Katherine.” “We all do, ma’am.” “It may please you to know that the data module Noble-2 procured from Visegrád Relay contained precisely what Dr. Sorvad promised: a latchkey discovery. It has unlocked, at last, the secrets of this excavation.” “I’m not sure I understand.” “Your orders were a pretext to bring you to me, and have been overridden. You are here, Team Noble, to ensure the delivery of this vital data to a secure location.” “Doctor, our orders were to destroy any sensitive-” “Others were handle the demolition.” “I’ll need to confirm this new directive with Command.” “Colonel Holland will be briefed soon. You belong to ONI now.” The tram finally descended, and the Spartans stared in wonder. It was a massive cave, snow and ice mingled with UNSC structures, and a truly gigantic structure sat in the distance. “Before you,” Dr. Halsey explained, “is an alien artifact neither human nor Covenant in origin, advanced beyond our comprehension… until now. Thanks to Noble-2, the decryption of its data is nearly complete.” Attention was drawn to a few huge chunks of ice and rock tumbling from the ceiling in the distance, and a Covenant dropship could just barely be seen descending through the hole. “Whatever we’re doin’ down here,” Emile said, “we better do it quick.” “Have your data ready, ma’am” Carter radioed. “We’re coming to you.” “The decryption process is still underway.” “I don’t think you understand. The Covenant are here; we’re out of time. If it isn’t portable by the time we reach you, it’s gonna get buried.” “Bury any of it, and you bury mankind’s best chance of survival! …Commander, you’ve been wondering what your Spartans died for? It was for this. Please… I beg you: buy me all the time that you can.” The tram came to a stop, and the Spartans filed out, looking around. This Cave Is Not A Natural Formation The group moved down a slope, following a waypoint. “Commander,” Jun said, “I’m seeing turrets already in defensive positions.” “ONI was expecting company?” Emile asked. “They sure as hell got it” Carter replied, noticing the Phantoms getting closer. “Doctor, we have hostiles inbound.” As they passed a turret, a man’s voice came over the radio. They recognized Sword Control. “Noble Team, there are four defense turrets to assist you in defending the lab. Get them online, and quick! When the turrets take too much damage, they’ll shut down to recharge and auto-repair. You’ll need to reactivate them when they come back online.” Jess activated the nearby turret. As they rushed to the entrance of the lab, Jess headed for a Mongoose, hopping in and driving off to the next turret. Teana, though, had a better idea. Rushing over to the grenade launcher sitting on a rack, she aimed up at the incoming Banshee and fired an EMP round. The Banshee plummeted down, landing less than 10 feet from her. She pried the cockpit open, kicked out the Elite pilot, and took off. She headed over to the outside turrets, strafing the Grunts passing them, and quickly got both of them online, heading up as they opened fire on the Covenant nearby. Jess drove back to the door, stocking up on DMR ammo and grabbing a shotgun. The Covenant forces – Jackals and Grunts – were whittled down by the turrets and by Teana’s Banshee, so very few reached the ramp leading to the lab, and were quickly cut down by the four Spartans standing guard at it. Two packs of Brutes started working their way up the snowy slopes. Teana took out one with a fuel rod shot, and the other was distracted by a turret long enough for Emile to ride up in a Mongoose, leap out, slaughter the lot of them with his shotgun, and quickly drive back to the lab entrance. Teana used her Banshee’s plasma guns to take out some more Grunts, and then engaged in a brief dogfight with a hostile Banshee, blowing the craft’s right wing off and leaving it unable to make any horizontal movements other than a constant right turn. She blasted it with a fuel-rod shot, and it came apart and fell to the ground. A second wave of Phantoms came in, one of them depositing a Wraith across the bridge, on the other side of the area. Teana immediately set to fuel-rod-bombing it, and after four direct hits from the green projectiles it exploded. She turned her attention to the gate, where the team was fighting off a large pack of angry Brutes and Skirmishers. She boosted in and blew half the enemy forces to hell with two fuel-rod shots, and then u-turned and shot the turret off of a Model-B Phantom. The now-harmless dropship beat a hasty retreat. Jun sniped a Brute Captain through the eye, and then shot a gold-armored Skirmisher straight through the center of the neck; the force of the supersonic bullet hitting such a thin target tore the bird-like alien’s head off. Emile used his shotgun as a club to cave a Jackal’s skull in, and then drop-kicked a Skirmisher, which was finished off by a rifle shot from Carter. Jess threw a plasma grenade, and it stuck to a running Skirmisher. The alien’s momentum carried it into three of its fellows just as the explosive went off, killing all four of them. After half a minute of peace, in which the Spartans rearmed and reloaded while Teana flew her Banshee in lazy circles above the complex, a third wave of Phantoms flew in, dropping off a team of Elite Rangers and three squads of Elite-led Grunts, along with a pair of Ghosts. Jess used a Spartan Laser found near the door to blow one of the Ghosts to kingdom come, and Teana managed to hit the driver of the second dead-on while dive-bombing it. Another Grunt tried to hop in the damaged Ghost’s pilot seat, but by this time Teana had circled around and fired a few plasma shots at the circular tank on the craft’s right side, and the Ghost exploded violently. A squad of Grunts was cut down by one of the turrets, but the red-armored Elite made it through and charged the Spartans. Jess jumped out from behind a rock and blindsided the Elite with his shotgun, blowing the alien’s arm off. Another shot splattered its head. Teana fired a fuel-rod shot at a briefly-grounded pair of Elite Rangers, killing them both, and then got to work on shooting the other Rangers out of the sky. Once she was done with that, she turned her attention to another hostile Banshee flying higher up, and hit it in the underside with a fuel-rod shot, destroying it. Quickly, the rest of the alien forces were dead. “I’m almost done, Spartans” Halsey radioed. “Just a little more.” A final three Phantoms flew in. One, a Type-C, fired its plasma turrets at Teana’s Banshee, heavily damaging both wings. She flew her crippled craft to the team’s location and bailed out, setting up defensive position with them in preparation for the coming assault. The first Phantom deployed a Wraith at the other side of the area, the second came in behind and deployed another one and some Jackals, and the third came in right at the base of the ramp, dropping a team of Elites. Jun used the Spartan Rifle to gut the distant Wraith, and the team opened fire on the squad of Elites. Teana fired a grenade at the Jackals rounding the nearby corner, killing them all, and Carter & Emile picked off Elites one by one. An Elite Field-Master charged up the ramp, brandishing a plasma sword, its shields shrugging off bullets. Jun shot it with the Spartan Laser, burning a dinner-plate-sized hole through the alien’s chest. “Well done, Spartans” Dr. Halsey’s voice finally came over the radio. “I’m opening the laboratory door.” After killing the stragglers and humorously luring the remaining Wraith into boosting right over a ledge, the team walked up to the gate, and Jess hit the button. The door slid open, and Noble walked in, the door sealing shut behind them as they progressed. After passing through a tunnel carved from ice, they reached a wide-open room. In the center was a huge glowing sphere; symbols and waves of light raced across its surface, and beams of… something… ran between it and the walls. “What is all this?” Jun asked. “Knowledge” Dr. Halsey replied, moving back and forth between consoles. “A birthright from an ancient civilization. This AI is its custodian, and she has chosen you as her couriers.” “Chosen?” Emile asked, a little skeptical. “By an AI?” “By this AI, yes. Her measure of you carries as much weight as my own. Perhaps more.” On a holo-console, surrounded by a transparent sphere of data, stood a female-form violet-colored AI. “Cortana?” Teana asked. “A fragment of her” Halsey replied. “You all are to take her to the UNSC ship-breaking yards in Aszod. There, you will find a Halcyon-class cruiser holding the original Cortana, waiting for this vital data to be brought to her and to get her off-planet.” “I understand” Carter said. “Do you?” she looked to him. “Humankind is outmatched. When Reach falls – and it will fall – our annihilation is all but certain. Unless, we can gleam from this artifact a defense against the Covenant; a game-changer, on the level of the conical bullet in the 19th century, or faster-than-light travel in the 23rd.” “And what if we can’t?” “An apt question, if there were somewhere else to place our hope. There is not.” She pressed a button, and the Cortana fragment’s avatar disappeared. Halsey reached down and pulled free a cylindrical container, carrying a glowing blue chip. She walks over to the team, heading toward Jess… …and walks past him. “Take her, Lanstar. She has made her choice.” -SCENE SHIFT- The group exited a tunnel, to find two Pelicans waiting on a landing pad. “Dr. Halsey,” Carter said, “Noble-3 will escort you to Castle Base.” “I require no escort, Commander” she replied. “Jun,” he turned to his sniper, “make sure nothing falls into enemy hands.” “I’ll do whatever’s necessary, Commander. …Good luck.” “You too, rifleman.” Carter walked over and climbed aboard the right Pelican, walking in and sitting in the pilot’s seat. He started up the engines as Teana & Jess got onboard behind him, taking seats in the troop bay. Emile sat on the edge of the loading ramp. “I need a heading, Dot” he requested. “At three kilometers north, turn right; heading 050.” “Which leads to?” “The ship-breaking yard in Aszod, the only off-planet extraction point left on this continent. Small-scale air attacks have decimated many convoys en route. An armada of Covenant ships is hastening to the site as well. UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn is awaiting your arrival.” “Wouldn’t be a Noble mission if it were easy.” As the two dropships flew off in different directions, the ground bulged upward. The explosion did its intended job, scouring Sword Base’s underground clean of anything the Covenant came to find. The ground caved in, and the surrounding water rushed in to flood the caverns.

2011-02-20, 20:47	Link #29369
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for Ch. 11 - The Pillar of Autumn: THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN: Reach Aszod, Eposz August 30th, 2552 “Noble Leader, seek immediate medical attention.” The Pelican flew through the canyon, flames streaming from its forward starboard engine. A pair of Banshees pursued it, shooting plasma bolts at it, and a Phantom followed them. “Noble-1, please respond.” Jess & Teana made their way toward the cockpit to check on Carter, and stumbled as the ship lurched, a plasma bolt striking Jess and making his shields flare. Emile aimed, and fired an EMP grenade. The crippled Banshee tumbled through the air and smashed into its wingman, taking both comrades down. “Please respond, Sierra-2-5-9. You are alarming me.” Carter tossed his helmet aside, the blue thing landing to the side of the pilot’s seat. His armor was charred, his face bloodied, and blood was splattered on the inside of the Pelican’s forward windshield. “Not sure how much longer she’s gonna stay together” he said. “Skies are jammed up, anyway. Gotta get you guys off her.” “Sir,” Teana muttered. “You-” “Don’t wanna hear it. Get the Package to the Autumn. Jess, you’re her escort.” “…Done” Jess replied. “Not yet, it’s not. Emile, go with them; it’s a ground game now.” “It’s been an honor, sir” Emile said, as two more Banshees slid into view. Carter pulled free his dog-tags and handed them to Jess. “Likewise. I’ll do what I can to draw their fire. Seven… Tia… that AI chose you. …She made the right choice.” The three Spartans crouched near the rear exit of the Pelican, Teana protectively clutching the data storage unit to her torso. “On my mark.” Carter held up a hand with three fingers. Two. One. “Mark!” The three Spartans bailed out, sliding down a rock face. Their shields flared and failed, but their armor protected them. The dropship roared overhead, engine still in flames. They got to their feet, Teana securing the data storage unit (and making sure that Jun’s dog-tags – given to her “just in case” – were secured along with Jorge’s and Kat’s), and the trio raced through a small canyon, leading to a rock edge overlooking a road and some Covenant. Overhead, Carter’s damaged Pelican continued to fly, a pair of Banshees hounding it. Once More Unto The Breach “You still with us, Commander?” Emile radioed. “Stay low” Carter replied. “Let me draw the heat. You just deliver that package.” The Pelican shot off into the distance. A third Banshee that stupidly tried to attack from the direction the dropship was heading got shredded by the Pelican’s chin-gun. The Elites piloting the other Banshees would’ve face-palmed at their comrade’s reckless foolishness had their hands not been busy controlling their craft. “There it is, guys,"” Emile pointed to a massive object in the distance. “The Pillar of Autumn. Race ya to her.” Jess and Emile started heading left, planning to work their way down the winding slope. Teana had other plans. Looking down at the small force of Covenant below, she took a few steps back, and then ran for the edge. The red-armored Elite never knew what hit him, as almost 500 pounds of armored Spartan came down hard on his back, slamming him into the ground and breaking his spine. Teana then pulled up Mirage in pistol mode, quickly downing the startled Grunts. Emile shook his head at his teammate’s actions, though he had to admit it had been pretty cool. He tossed a grenade at the trio of red-shielded Jackals on the bridge, and the explosion and shrapnel shredded them. He and Jess leapt to the bottom, their shields absorbing the impact, and turned right to start killing more Grunts. Another Elite Major, this one carrying a concussion rifle, stepped out and opened fire. Two shots sailed over the Spartans’ heads, and a third smacked Jess in the gut. He dived to the side, a faint, incessant beeping in his ears as the shield warning alerted him to the current status of 40% due to the combination of dropping 15 feet and then being hit by the plasma shell. After a few seconds, they recharged and the beeping stopped. Teana flanked left, passing under the bridge and catching the Elite by surprise. She opened fire with both pistols, quickly draining the Elite’s shields and blasting three holes in its chest. It collapsed, and she ran over and grabbed the concussion rifle and an extra clip. The trio moved on, reaching a small shack. Near it sat two Mongooses. Jess bent over and picked up a rocket launcher, and then headed inside the structure. He found two extra pairs of rockets, as well as a DMR. He exchanged his assault rifle for the marksman rifle, grabbing four extra clips of ammo. Loaded up, he headed outside and hopped on one of the Mongooses. Teana hopped in back, holding onto the handle with one hand and brandishing Mirage Pistol in the other. Emile got aboard the second Mongoose. The two ULATVs started up, and took off down the road, Jess’ leading. They passed between two cliff walls, coming to another wide-open area. The road winded back and forth down the slope. They rode down, right then left, passing a few Covenant foot-soldiers. And then a Scarab dropped in from low orbit, landing directly in their path. The Mongooses drove underneath the massive four-legged walker, as Carter’s Pelican flew overhead, distracting it. The two little vehicles drove on, passing Covenant drop-pods and another Scarab, Teana occasionally firing her pistol at some of the Grunts. Soon they got through the area, passing through a tunnel and hanging a left, going through another, shorter tunnel as a Phantom flew past. “Bridge ahead is out, Six!” Emile pointed ahead. “We’re gonna have to jump it!” The two Mongooses hit the broken bridge, which acted like a ramp, launching them several meters into the air. They came back down hard on the other edge, the vehicles bouncing as their wheels absorbed the shock. They came to a stop and dismounted, and Jess grabbed a nearby Armor Lock module and equipped it. This Town Isn’t Big Enough “Noble,” Carter radioed, “enemy forces blocking the road ahead.” And then, as the trio hopped over a metal-and-stone barricade, another voice came over the comm. “How you guys doin’?” It was Jun. And he sounded weak, like it was hard to talk. “Jun?” Carter called. “What’s your status, over?” “Halsey is safe,” Jun replied, “inside Castle Base. Covvies got me, though.” Teana called up TEAMBIO on her HUD, and gasped in horror. Jun’s spine had been severed at mid-waist, his armor was seriously damaged, and he was losing blood at a rapid rate. He was alone, and bleeding to death. And Covenant forces were converging on his position. “I’ll take as many of the bastards with me as I can” he struggled out, and the sound of a sniper rifle firing was heard. “Come on, you sons of bitches! I’ve got a bullet for each of you! Before I die, I’m sending each and every one of you to Hell!!” The radio cut out, static filling the channel. “Jun! …Jun!!” Teana’s panic was interrupted by Jess’ shout of “INCOMING!!!” The Wraith mortar came falling down, the trio of Spartans barely getting out of the way in time. The team moved behind an abandoned tractor-trailer, as Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals moved up toward them. Emile, running off the rage of losing yet another squad-mate, roared and charged, drawing his kukri and slashing at the faces and throats of any Covenant soldier he could reach. Jess & Teana went left, running into a small building, and gunning down a Brute they found in there. After a bit, Emile regained control of himself and joined them, leaving behind five dead Brutes, three dying Jackals, and a hapless Grunt whose head had been split like a ripe melon. Over the next few minutes, the trio picked off the remaining Brutes and Grunts outside, killing the two Jackal marksmen on the deployable lookout tower, and ducking inside whenever a Wraith mortar came in. Jess spotted the Wraith and debated firing a few rockets at it, but chose not to, deciding to save the warheads for later. He had something else in mind, something a little more daring. After the last Brute fell, he used his DMR to kill the Brute Captain manning the Wraith’s plasma turret. He went left, passing through another structure and making his way around and through pipes and stuff, getting closer to the Wraith. He stepped into view, too close for the Wraith to launch a mortar at him. The Brute pilot boosted the 47-ton vehicle at him; Jess responded by armor-locking, the Wraith’s impact sliding him across the ground. He released the lock, the contact EMP stunning the Wraith, and leapt atop it. He pried open the top hatch and tossed a grenade in. He leapt off, rolled away, and the grenade triggered a larger explosion as the Wraith’s fuel cells went up. The trio moved up a nearby slope, encountering a pair of suicide Grunts. One managed to get in close, and Emile dodged at the last split-second, being sent rolling by the shockwave that drained his shields by 70% and knocked free his dog-tags. Jess shot the three needle-rifle-wielding Jackal marksmen and bent over to pick them up. He looked to Emile. “Hold onto ‘em for now” Emile said. “Give ‘em back when we’re not in a rush.” Teana picked up a needle rifle and six clips of ammo from the Jackals, and the three Spartans moved through a narrow rock passageway. As they approached an open area, Carter radioed them. “Noble. We’ve got a… situation.” As the trio rounded the corner, a Scarab stalked into view, its ‘eye’ looking right at them. “Motherfucker…” Emile breathed. “We can get past it, sir.” “No you can’t” Carter replied. “Not without help.” “Commander… you don’t have the firepower.” As the Scarab began to charge its main gun, a barrage of 70mm shots smacked into its ‘head’, stunning it. The Pelican, still trailing flames, soared over and past it, beginning a wide turn. “I’ve got the mass.” “…Solid copy. Hit ‘em hard, boss.” Teana’s eyes widened. “Carter… no, not you too! Please! I can’t lose anyone else!” “You’ve gotten strong, Tia. I know you’ll do just fine. Deliver that package. Save the day. You’re on your own, Noble. Carter out.” The Pelican slammed into the side of the Scarab at near-top speed, vanishing in a huge explosion. The Scarab stumbled, a tremendous hole blown in its side, flames consuming it. It ‘screamed’ and tripped, falling over the edge of the cliff. A few seconds in, there was an explosion. “Crevice to the east” Emile gestured ahead as he turned to the pair behind him, one stunned and the other horrified. “Let’s go.” They passed the cliff edge, seeing the decommissioned UNSC ships sitting on the ground off in the distance. They entered another closed-in canyon area, and as they passed a trio of dead marines (stocking up on frag grenades in the process), an ominous buzz could be heard up ahead. “Buggers” Emile said. “Go quiet.” The trio crept around the corner, and a Drone flew into view. It spotted them and shrieked. Jess fired with his DMR, and the creature came apart explosively. Well, this was an interesting discovery; if a Drone is head-shotted by a high-power rifle, it explodes. Jess & Teana used their rifles to take advantage of this discovery, and the area was soon littered with bug bits. They moved forward, rounding a corner and spotting four more Drones that were quickly dealt with before they could react. The trio hopped down a path to the right, catching a pair of Drones resting on the ground, and then came out on the lower level A Skirmisher ran out, firing its plasma pistol, only for Emile to shoot it in the face with his pistol. Two more Drones flew in, and Teana stuck one with three needles, which promptly super-combined and blew the insect to bits. The other one got too close and was blown apart by Emile’s shotgun. A trio of red-armored Skirmishers equipped with forearm shields appeared and opened fire, one wielding a carbine and the other two carrying needle rifles. Teana opened fire at the nearest one’s face with Mirage Rifle, but it raised its arms and blocked the shots. So she blew out its kneecaps. It collapsed, and another shot to the head ended its life. Jess got three needle rifle rounds into the second Skirmisher’s abdomen, and the resulting blast tore the alien in half. Emile rushed the last one, carbine rounds bouncing off his shields, and swung his knife in an arc, beheading the alien. He bent down and picked up the purple carbine and four clips of ammo from the dead Kig-Yar’s body. The trio moved on, passing another small group of fallen marines. Near one, Teana found a fully-charged Spartan Laser – an older model carrying four shots’ worth of charge. She grabbed it, bracing it on her shoulder, and followed the other two out to a rock outcropping that overlooked the site of a battle. Below, marines traded fire with a force of Covenant – mostly Skirmishers and Jackals, but with a pair of red-armored Elite Majors, a white-armored Elite Ultra, and a gold-armored Elite General amongst them. A decommissioned frigate marked as UNSC Commonwealth, partially dismantled, blocked their view of the Autumn. “This is Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn” a man’s voice came over the radio, his tone carrying calmness and confidence. “We’re tracking you, Noble, and have begun our launch sequence. Proceed to dry-dock, Platform D. I’ll be there myself to receive the package.” “We’ll be there, sir” Emile said. “You’d better be, soldier,” Keyes replied, “because my countdown is no-abort.” “Understood. We gotta get to the dry-dock; Priority One.” Teana glanced down, spotting the Elite field commander. Its shields, at full charge, would withstand a Spartan Laser hit. Fortunately, a grenade tossed by a marine went off at its feet, and its shields flared brightly. Teana took the opportunity, pointing the weapon and holding down the trigger. After a few seconds of charge, a large red laser shot forth, burning through the Elite leader’s shields and punching through its chest. The Spartan Laser vented steam, and after it cooled Teana pointed at an Elite Ranger standing inside the frigate, watching the battle from above. A laser shot vaporized its head. Two more shots killed the Elite Ultra and one of the Majors, and Teana tossed the empty weapon aside. The three Spartans jumped down from the rock, landing just in time to catch a pair of Skirmishers rushing toward them. Jess shot them both in the head with his DMR. Emile looked left, and tossed a frag grenade at a trio of Jackals harassing two marines. The explosive sent the mangled bodies flying. The marines, six in all, formed up with the Spartans, the super-soldiers’ presence raising their morale. A red-armored Elite tried to sneak around in a flanking maneuver, but was spotted, and a barrage of weapons fire drained its shields and killed it in less than two seconds. Another small wave of Covenant appeared, a trio of Skirmishers and a blue-armored Elite Minor led by an Elite Ranger. Emile sniped the Skirmishers with his carbine, and then charged the Elite Minor, blowing its guts out with a point-blank shotgun blast. Teana rushed the Ranger, switching to Longsword Mode and slicing an arm off. Another slash ripped through the alien’s chest, killing it. She switched back to Rifle Mode and signaled the group to keep moving. The group jogged up the stairs, climbing into the decommissioned frigate and reaching the other side. They found an opening overlooking another area, filled with Grunts. Two Ghosts patrolled, and a trio of Shade turrets stood between them and their objective. Fortunately, Jess found another Spartan Laser, and this one was a newer five-shot model. He quickly disposed of the three Shades, and then went over to the other opening several meters to the right. Teana picked up a sniper rifle and started picking off Grunts, focusing on those carrying fuel rod guns first, while Jess used the last two shots of the Spartan Laser to destroy the two Ghosts. After Teana used up the sniper rifle’s ammo, leaving only five panicking Grunts left to deal with, the marines headed down the stairs, intent on reaching the building. The Spartans took a more direct route, dropping a few dozen feet to the ground below, their shields absorbing the impact. The ground force rushed ahead, a marine picking up a fuel rod gun from a fallen Grunt, and they entered the building, gunning down a trio of Grunts who didn’t get out of the way fast enough. Inside the building, a medium-sized room held two Elites – one red-armored, the other white. The marine with the fuel rod gun stepped in and opened fire. The green bolts of death killed the red-armored Elite and seriously wounded the white-armored one. As the team rushed in, a marine put it out of its misery. The team filed through the door and through another few rooms, soon reaching a quartet of army troopers who were currently engaged in a battle for control of a large room. “Spartans?” one of them noticed the newcomers. “Dry-dock’s through that structure. Punch through; we’ll back you up.” Teana used her needle rifle to down a pair of Grunts, and then Jess tossed a grenade to take out three Jackals. A red-armored Elite fired, taking down one of the army troopers; Teana fired a rifle grenade at it, smacking it in the face and draining its shields. A DMR shot from a marine brought it down. Just then, a Phantom hovered outside, dropping two white-armored Elites. An army trooper picked up a plasma pistol that had been dropped by a dead Jackal. He overcharged it, pointed at the nearest Elite Ultra, and let fly. The Elite’s shields were stripped by the EMP bolt, leaving it easy prey for Teana’s needle rifle. The other Elite roared and tossed a plasma grenade. It missed the trooper, but stuck to a marine. The man at least had the sense of mind to immediately roll away from his comrades, ensuring that he was the only one killed in the resulting blast. The rest of the marines concentrated fire, pounding away at the Elite’s shields. Emile opened fire with his carbine, and soon the alien’s shields were down, and a green glowing projectile blew through its brain. A Pelican flew in, and the marines & troopers got aboard. There wasn’t room for the Spartans, so they continued on. Soon, they reached another area, containing four Skirmishers and a Hunter pair. The trio used their rifles to quickly pick off the Skirmishers, but this got the Hunters’ attention. The two walking artillery pieces turned and fired, twin bolts of explosive green energy heading for them. They dived out of the way, and the ground was scorched where the bolts hit. The trio moved in, Jess finally readying his rocket launcher. He pulled a bullfight on one of the Hunters, and shot it in the back with a rocket. It stumbled, and he hit it again before it could reorient itself. The beast collapsed to the ground, dead. Emile and Teana circled around the other one, firing whenever they saw an opening. Orange blood stained the ground at the Hunter’s feet, but it continued to try and get a bead on one of them. Teana stepped toward it, jumping to the side to avoid a hammer-strike from the shield. Emile blasted the distracted Hunter in the back with his shotgun twice, dealing considerable damage before the creature brought its shield over its head and behind it, forcing Emile to dodge-roll to avoid being crushed. Teana fired a rifle grenade almost point-blank, and the creature stumbled, its compound form beginning to lose cohesion. Another rifle grenade did the job, and it collapsed in a heap. Nearby, a door slid open, and a pair of army troopers poked their heads out, admiring the results of the Spartans’ handiwork. They signaled the armored soldiers to come over, and the trio entered the smelting facility. Nearby, a trio of Jackals stood at ground level shields overlapping to deflect bullets. Overhead, on a catwalk, four more Jackals started down, shields active. Teana fired another 40mm grenade, killing two of the floor-level Jackals and stunning the third, leaving it open for a DMR shot to the cranium from Jess. Suddenly, a white-armored Elite wielding a plasma sword charged out. Emile fired a few carbine shots, but the Elite dodged and weaved, avoiding the hits as it ran toward the humans. Teana switched to Longsword Mode and responded in kind, locking blades with the tall alien. She parried a diagonal strike and summoned her other blade, swinging it at her foe’s legs. The shields protected the alien, but were drained in the process. Teana headbutted the alien, stunning it, and then drove both energy swords through its chest. It stared at her in shock, and then collapsed. She withdrew and deactivated her blades, switching her right weapon to standard pistol and her left to plasma-bolt pistol. She went up the stairs, Jess & Emile close behind her and the troopers bringing up the rear, and Jess tossed a frag grenade over her head, killing three of the Jackals. Emile rushed forward and grabbed the fourth, tossing it over the ledge and into the vat of molten metal below. Mercifully, it landed head-first in the liquefied metal, and was thus killed instantly. “Fried chicken?” Emile said, and the troopers chuckled. Across the catwalk was the door to the next area. From it came an Elite Major and four Grunts, joining the three Jackal marksmen already there. Jess shot the Jackals while the marines took out the Grunts, and Emile & Teana exchanged fire with the Elite. The alien’s shields gave, and a trio of shots from Teana’s pistol ended its life. Satisfied, the group moved on. As they passed through the next hallway, the building shuddered and the lights flickered. “Keyes to Noble Team” the Captain spoke over the comm. channel. “We’re running out of time here, Spartans!” “Solid copy, sir” Emile responded. “We’re en route.” The group hurried up the stairs. At the top, a trio of army troopers held a Jackal and two Grunts at bay. Jess threw a frag grenade, killing the Covenant soldiers. The three Spartans moved on, soon reaching a door leading outside. There, a pair of marines waited for them. Keyes “What’s the situation?” Emile asked. “We rigged a mass driver up top” a marine responded. “If we lose that, the Autumn will have no covering fire; she’ll never make orbit.” “Noble to Keyes” Emile radioed. “We’re at the pad.” “Copy, Noble. My Pelican’s ready. Clear an LZ and I’ll meet you there.” “Will do, sir” Emile then turned to Jess & Teana. “All right, guys… this is it. I’ll man the big gun. You just get to the platform and deliver that package.” The squad of two Spartans and eight soldiers hurried outside and down the steps; Jess, Teana, and four soldiers headed up to the crow’s nest, where Teana grabbed the waiting sniper rifle and two extra clips. Jess readied his DMR. The other four set up defensive positions around the structure, one of them joining the Spartans in the little shack, his back to theirs as he watched their six-o-clock, ready for any Covenant that got up the stairs to his right. A Phantom flew in, depositing several Brute Minors and several Grunts on the landing pad. “I’m in position!” Emile radioed. “I’ll take out as many dropships as I can!” As he said this, a MAC round punched through the Phantom, which erupted in a ball of blue-white fire. Another coilgun shot destroyed a Spirit flying toward the area from the distance. Teana switched Cross Mirage to rifle mode, single-shot, and picked off some Grunts. A marine wielding a DMR took a Brute down, and another Brute fell when a pair of needle rifle shots buried themselves in its face, ripping its skull open when they went off. Down below, the other UNSC soldiers engaged the Grunts and a pair of Brutes up-close. They quickly overwhelmed and killed their alien foes. Another two Phantoms flew in, one dropping off a few Jackal Majors and Brute Captains near the rocks at the far side of the platform, the other disgorging more Grunts and Brutes in the rocks to the left of the crow’s nest building. This latter one was shot down when trying to flee, a MAC round coring it. “That was for Jorge!” A pair of Banshees flying by was lined up perfectly for another MAC shot to obliterate both of them. “That one was for Kat!” A few Brutes reached the stairs, and were caught by surprise when the Spartans’ rear-guard marine blasted them almost point-blank with a shotgun. One died instantly; the other took a swing as it fell, knocking the marine off his feet, but the soldier’s armor protected him from the blow. Teana used her sniper rifle to kill three of the distant Brute Captains, while the fourth dove for cover. The marines on the lower level charged that position; one killed the last Brute with a plasma grenade, and the others used the hand-then-head method to down the Jackals. One final wave of Phantoms came in; three in all. The first was obliterated before it could drop its troops. “That was for Jun!” The second hovered directly over the crow’s nest, dropping a pack of Brutes led by a Chieftain carrying a plasma launcher. The four marines were caught off-guard, surrounded, and quickly killed, and Jess promptly killed the Chieftain with a direct hit from the rocket launcher, also killing two of its underlings. The rest were cut down by Teana’s needle rifle and two short-range sniper shots. Meanwhile, the third Phantom dropped its cargo of Brute Captains and a fuel-rod-gun-carrying Chieftain, and as it flew away a MAC shot destroyed it. “And that was for Carter!” The pack of elite Brutes, however, quickly massacred the marines below, the Chieftain’s heavy weapon blowing them to pieces as the pack advanced on the crow’s nest. Jess fired another rocket, taking out three of the five Captains, and loaded his final two rockets. Teana used her sniper rifle to kill the Chieftain, the first shot damaging its shields and the second punching through them and shooting through the Brute’s skull, blowing its helmet off. She then fired a few 40mm grenades at the last two Captains. “Noble to Keyes,” Emile radioed, “pad is clear.” Teana & Jess made their way down, heading toward the landing pad. “On the way” Keyes replied. “Six, Tia… time for you to leave. Get the package to the pad, and get your asses off this planet. I’ve got your back.” The two red-armored Spartans stepped onto the landing pad, watching the approaching Pelican. “This is Keyes on hot approach to Platform Delta, ready to take possession of the package.” The dropship touched down, and Captain Jacob Keyes stepped out, eyeing the two Spartans. “Good to see you, Spartans” he said. “Catherine assured me I could count on you.” “Not just us, sir” Jess said solemnly. “They’ll be remembered” Keyes said, noticing the slumped shoulders and slight twitches in Teana. The poor girl had lost most of her ‘family’ in less than two weeks’ time; it was a wonder she hadn’t had a breakdown yet. She handed him the data module as she climbed aboard the Pelican. “Are we grabbing Emile?” she asked. “Of course” Keyes replied. “That’s why I came with two Pelicans.” Suddenly, a shadow loomed over them. The group looked, and saw a massive shape descend through the clouds, heading towards them. COVENANT SANGHELIOS-CLASS BATTLECRUISER – 1,782 METERS “Damn it!” Keyes cursed, calling up his helmsman on the comm. “Adjust heading for the Autumn! Noble-4, I need fire on that battlecruiser or we’re not getting out of here!” “You’ll have your window, sir” was the reply, and the gun began to turn to face the oncoming threat. “Bridge, this is the Captain. We have the Package. Returning to the Autumn, over.” Suddenly, a Phantom appeared, opening fire on the second Pelican. The craft’s engines burst into flames, and it nosed over, Jess diving to the ground as Keyes’ dropship went airborne. The Phantom wheeled overhead, heading for the mass driver, and suppressing fire from the ship’s side turret forced Jess to duck. An Elite Zealot leapt from the ship, raising its sword to strike. Emile blasted it before it could, knocking it off its feet. He aimed at the alien’s chest, and fired again; the Elite slumped and tumbled off of the gun. “Who’s next?” he yelled. The second Zealot came out of nowhere, its plasma sword impaling Emile through the chest from behind and lifting him off the ground. Even though his heart had just been destroyed, Emile spun around in the Elite’s grasp, drawing his kukri. “I’m ready to die! How ‘bout you?!” With that, he jammed the knife into the Elite’s neck, and the both of them toppled off the gun. “Jess!” He turned around, spotting the Pelican, its ramp deployed, hovering toward him. Teana leaned out, hand extended. “Lieutenant!” Pvt. Jenkins shouted. “Get aboard! We gotta get the hell outta here!” “Negative"” Jess said calmly, realizing what had to be done. “I have the gun. I’ll deal with the cruiser.” He walked over, placing Carter’s & Emile’s dog-tags in Teana’s outstretched hand, along with his own. Through the depolarized visor, he could see the emotion in the girl’s eyes, and at that moment he saw the lonely, panicky little girl inside. “Stay safe, Teana” he added. The Pelican lifted off as Jess turned and walked away. “Godspeed, Spartan” Keyes said softly, cradling the data module. Jess hurried up the stairs, shooting a pack of Special-Ops Grunts and shrugging off their fire. At the top, in the doorway, an Elite Zealot opened fire with dual plasma rifles; Jess stuck a plasma grenade to its face, and with a flash the alien’s head disappeared. He rushed past the still-smoking body, entering an open-roofed chamber. Two more Grunts fell to his DMR, and a Zealot with a concussion rifle fired and missed. Jess ran into a side room, and the Elite pursued, only to get smacked in the face by an assault rifle being wielded as a club. Jess flipped the weapon around and opened fire, further draining the Elite’s shields. The alien regained its balance, but was too close to fire its concussion rifle without injuring itself. Instead, it charged, trying to bash the Spartan’s helmet in with the weapon. Jess sidestepped and dropped the assault rifle, tripping the Elite with his foot and jamming the DMR’s muzzle into its mouth. He fired thrice, and the alien was dead. Jess grabbed the concussion rifle, reloading it and sprinting across the room, reaching a small set of stairs. He leapt up it, and came face-to-face with another Zealot. He jumped backward, firing the concussion rifle, and the Elite roared as its shields took a pounding. A plasma grenade silenced it. Jess ran past it, encountering one last Zealot, wielding a fuel rod gun. Jess readied his rocket launcher and fired, the warhead hitting the Elite dead-on. Its shields failed, a purple blood splattered to the ground. Another rocket – his last one – blew the alien to chunks. Jess hurriedly climbed the ladder to the cannon's controls, climbing in the seat and pointing it at the approaching starship. He fired, to no effect. “Mass driver won’t crack those shields at this range” Keyes radioed him. “Wait until it gets closer, Spartan.” A Phantom appeared from around a rock pillar up ahead, and Jess blasted it. He then aimed a little to the right, slagging another Phantom rising from below. A third came in from overhead, firing its turret; the shots missed, and Jess scrapped it. The next few minutes were spent blasting Phantoms and the occasional Banshee, until finally the battlecruiser was almost overhead. A point of light began to build up on its underside. “Fire now, Lieutenant!” Keyes shouted over the radio. “Hit her in the gut!” Jess aimed and fired. The hypersonic shell of depleted tungsten pierced into the belly of the Covenant warship, and the stored energy discharged explosively… into the ship. A massive explosion ripped through the vessel’s ventral area, and it began to fall from the sky. “Good guns, Spartan” Keyes radioed. “All hands, brace for castoff.” A series of booster rockets slowly raised the Pillar of Autumn off the ground, just as Keyes’ Pelican entered a hangar, which closed behind it. The ship was flown out to the side as its rear engines glowed blue with life. Behind it, the battered Covenant vessel hit the ground, sending up a tremendous dust cloud. The booster rockets shut down and detached, falling away as the human cruiser took off, shooting high up into the sky and passing through the clouds, fading from view. “This is the Pillar of Autumn. We are away. And the package is with us.” Jess climbed down the ladder one-handed, his other grasping his rifle, as he watched the vessel disappear from sight. Mission accomplished. He reloaded his rifle, and glanced out at the devastation. -SCENE CHANGE- The Pillar of Autumn raced away from Reach, a dozen Covenant ships breaking off to give chase. Ahead, another vessel tried to block their path. COVENANT RESILIENCE-CLASS LIGHT CARRIER – 1,455 METERS A three-round burst from the Autumn’s custom MAC hit the ship, disabling its shields and punching a hole through its aft section. A barrage of Archer missiles smashed into the damaged vessel, several of them going off inside the gaping hole. The Autumn raced by, as Cortana entered coordinates into the slipspace drive. Space-time rippled and parted, and the battered ship disappeared from realspace, destined for an extraordinary discovery. -SCENE CHANGE- As the Pillar of Autumn travelled through slipspace, a lone figure leaned against a wall, her armor removed, and she now stood in an old blue uniform, the TSAB patch long since torn off and replaced by the emblem of the UNSC. Her hand fell, the six sets of dog-tags swinging loose. Thom. Jorge. Kat. Jun. Emile. Jess. drip A tear fell to the floor. Then another. She struggled hard to maintain composure, but this was a struggle that she was losing. Captain Jacob Keyes, having read the girl’s file, walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, and he saw the barely-restrained emotion in watering blue eyes. Following his paternal instincts, he gently pulled her into a hug, her head buried in his shoulder. And the floodgates finally broke. Over the next several minutes, the red-haired teen cried her heart out, relentlessly beating herself up for failing to save her comrades – her family. Jacob held the girl, allowing her to release long-held sadness now that she was finally in a safe locale. When she’d calmed down a little, he lifted her head to look at her. Her eyes were red, and her face was tear-streaked. “You did everything you possibly could. I know you made them proud. And I know you will honor their memory by continuing to do so.” The girl nodded, and he held her for a while longer. When they reached wherever they were going, she would re-don her mask of professionalism. But right now, she was a child crying out her troubles in the arms of a father. Several minutes later, Teana lay in a cryo-pod, her clothes folded nearby. Capt. Keyes gingerly placed the box containing Noble Team’s dog-tags on the table next to her, setting Cross Mirage in card form on top of it. The hatch closed, and Teana’s eyes closed as sleep claimed her exhausted self. -SCENE CHANGE- Jess removed his helmet, the visor cracked in multiple places, and tossed it to the ground. Dead bodies of dozens of Grunts and Elites littered the area around him, and a team of Elite Ultras, Generals, and Zealots charged him. His shield system had long since failed, having taken too much damage to his armor. He fired his assault rifle at a charging Ultra, killing it, and stumbled as plasma bolts ripped into his side. Wielding the rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other, he downed two more Elites. A gold-armored General tried to stab him, but her bashed it aside and fired the rifle point-blank, ending its life. A Zealot rushed in, smacking him and sending him flying to land on his back. The Elite leapt, trying to stab him, but was kicked away, stumbling backward. Another Zealot was kicked in the face, stunning it, as a third grappled with the downed human. The second Zealot reactivated its sword, raised the blade, and stabbed downward. And in the collection of stories that made up UNSC history, Jess-B312’s tale came to its end.

2011-02-21, 11:57

Link #29370

Kaijo

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.

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Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

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I have problems with Vivio's Doomsday solution on Deville. Worked on Doomsday because he can't fly, but Deville can fly and should have been able to use that to prevent or at least slow the free fall. Or he could have, ya know, teleported out of the hold, or teleported with Vivio somewhere for a softer landing.

I can make some edits to clarify. I felt the combination of factors would have made calculating for a teleport extremely difficult, since Vivio was bringing the full brunt of her power to bear, and there would still have been inertia to contend with. But I'll add this to the list of things to revise, heh.

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Really think Isis being around with that cure is too convenient. And the Nanoha and Hayate matched felt like it was lacking. Her power up wasn't out of nowhere since you alluded to it before, but it still felt like it was over too quick and easily. Though I guess with the way you set it up, there wasn't much of a choice. Why did Nanoha allow Hayate to get up a double layered sheild in the first place? The key to taking on Hayate is to not let her get through a chant.

I suppose I didn't mention that her initial barrier didn't require a chant, much the same way most shields and barriers didn't. From there, she was able to get up the second. Also, Hayate HAX. Given the way the chapter was growing, I suppose I felt I might have gone through it a bit too quickly. Depending on how I edit the chapter, I'll see about revising this, too.

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Interesting questions; hopefully, you'll get some answers next chapter.^^ I have a timeline I plan to publish once the fic is done, but suffice it to say, Yuuno's obsession to bring Nanoha back happened after he had married Fate. There was a scene back in chapter 15, where Yuuno recounts seeing an almost ghostly version of a short-haired Nanoha, that plays into this.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have a better idea of where I stand with edits and such by the end of the day, and can post a revised chapter 33. Depending on the degree of edits, I'll either make another post here, or just post to ff.net.

Thanks again for the commentary.^^

2011-02-21, 13:26	Link #29371
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Events of Halo 1; Teana gets a weapon upgrade during her visit to the Library... but that's later. Spoiler for Book 1 Chapter 12 - PoA2: Soell System UNSC Pillar of Autumn Cryo Bay Alpha September 19th, 2552 Reveille Teana groaned as she opened her eyes. She sat up, a slight chill making her nude form shiver. She took a deep breath, leaned over, and spat/coughed out the worst-tasting thing she’d ever experienced. Damn cryo-sleep nutrient shit, she thought. At least Bureau ships are fast enough that hibernation is never a necessity. She looked to her left, spotting Cross Mirage sitting atop a box. The box holding Noble Team’s dog-tags. Teana put her hand to her heart and closed her eyes, quickly suppressing the urge to cry. She climbed out of the cryo-tube, picking up her currently-inactive Device. “Status, Mirage.” “We are currently onboard the Pillar of Autumn, master” he replied. “We are in an unidentified and previously-undiscovered star system, and it is September the Nineteenth, 20 days after we left Reach. Taking into account our current vessel’s FTL speed of 26.25 light-years per day, we are approximately 525 light-years from Reach. A small task-force of Covenant warships pursued us, and the Autumn is currently engaged in battle. Three of the enemy vessels have been disabled, one of them irreparably; however, boarding craft have landed and deployed enemy forces onboard, and Captain Keyes has ordered all combat personnel to repel boarders. John-117 is awakening as we speak. A massive artificial construct is in orbit around a large gas giant nearby; scans suggest that its makers were the same ancient civilization that constructed the Starshot.” Teana sighed and closed her eyes, processing the information. “Armor.” “Yes, sir.” In a flash of red light, Teana briefly disappeared. When the light faded, she was clad in her red-with-orange MJOLNIR armor. She grabbed the box, having Cross Mirage place it in a subspace storage compartment. She kept Mirage in single pistol form on her right hip, and he projected an arrow at the top of her HUD. As she made her way through the door, the arrow swiveled to point left. After a few minutes of following the arrow through passages that the Covenant boarders had yet to compromise, she came to the bridge of the ship. Here, just outside the bridge, she found a Grunt pack that she quickly dispatched. As she walked into the bridge, she could detect John silently following her in, and she felt a twinge of relief; the Spartan leader’s mere presence seemed to command respect and admiration, and he was easily on par with Carter in terms of squad leadership abilities, despite being almost as quiet as Jess was. Outside the forward window, coming out of the shadow of a gas giant that made Jupiter look small, was a gigantic artificial ring-shaped structure. It was 10,000 kilometers across – to the millimeter, according to Cortana – and in the inside was a mixture of swamps, plains, mountains, seas… basically, it was like someone took an Earth-like planet, cut out a strip between longitudinal lines, and cut-and-pasted it on the inside of the ring. Whoever made this had to have been countless millennia ahead of the UNSC, the TSAB, or even the Covenant to construct such a magnificent piece of astro-engineering – doubly so, considering the scans showed an age of over 100,000 years, and yet the humongous construct looked to still be in perfect condition. The Spartan pair walked over to the grey-uniformed man standing at a console, and the violet avatar of Cortana currently ‘standing’ on a holo-pedestal next to him. “Captain Keyes” John spoke up, his deep, smooth voice somehow catching Keyes’ attention over the controlled mayhem around him. He turned around to face the two armored figures. “Good to see both of you, Master Chief, Warrant Officer” he said. “Things aren’t going well. Cortana did her best, but we never really had a chance.” “A dozen technologically-superior Covenant warships against a single heavily-damaged Halcyon-class cruiser” The AI replied. “With those odds, I’m content with three… make that four kills.” She looked at the Chief. “Sleep well?” “No thanks to your driving, yes” he snarked. “So you did miss me.” A sudden blast rocked the ship, and anyone not sitting down grabbed hold of the nearest object to keep from falling over. “What the hell was that?!” Teana blurted/shouted out. “It must’ve been one of their boarding parties!” Cortana replied. “Readings suggest an anti-matter charge!” “Ma’am!” Lieutenant Aki Hikowa shouted to the AI. “Fire control for the main cannon is offline!” “Captain, the MAC was my last defensive option” Cortana said to Keyes. “Alright” Keyes sighed. “I’m initiating Cole Protocol Article 2. We’re abandoning ship. That means you, too, Cortana.” “While you do what? Go down with the ship?” “In a manner of speaking. That ringworld we’ve found… I’m going to try and land the Autumn on it.” “With all due respect, sir, this war has enough dead heroes…” “I appreciate the concern, Cortana, but it’s not up to me. Protocol is clear: the destruction or capture of a shipboard AI is absolutely unacceptable. That means you’re leaving the ship. Lock in a selection of emergency landing zones, upload them to my neural lace, and then sort yourself for hard transfer.” “…Aye-aye, sir.” She disappeared, and Keyes turned to the Spartan pair. “Which is where you come in, Chief. Get Cortana off this ship. If they capture her, they’ll learn everything. Force deployments, weapons research… Earth.” “I understand” the Master Chief said softly. “Noble-7, go with him. The Covenant are probably already down there already, and two Spartans will scare them more than one.” “Yes, sir” Cortana’s avatar reappeared. “The Autumn will continue evasive maneuvers until you initiate a landing sequence. Not that you’ll listen, but I’d suggest letting my subroutines handle the final approach.” “Excellent work, Cortana. Thank you. Are you ready?” She looked around, taking in the bridge, then sighed and closed her eyes. “Yank me.” Captain Keyes entered a keycode in the base of the holo-projector, and then pulled out a small chip, handing it to the Master Chief. “Good luck, Master Chief.” John looked at the chip, and then inserted it into the slot on the back of his helmet. He felt as Cortana made her presence known. “Hmm…” she went. “Your architecture isn’t much different from the Autumn’s…” “Don’t get any funny ideas” he replied. AI Constructs and Cyborgs First! Teana summoned her second pistol, handing it to John, who accepted it with a nod. The two crept out through the small hallway, soon encountering five Grunts. They were quickly dispatched. The sounds of combat drew them to the nearby cafeteria, where a trio of blue-armored Elites and a half-dozen Grunts were engaged in a firefight with five marines. John tossed Teana back her pistol as he grabbed an M6D from a fallen Ensign and an MA5B assault rifle from a dead marine. The two of them ran into the room, John quickly killing the Grunts with his HE pistol as Teana switched one of her pistols to plasma-bolt mode, using it to wear down an Elite’s shields and then shooting it through the head with her bullet-mode pistol. The marines, bolstered by the Spartans’ presence, focused fire and took the second Elite down. The third dove into cover, and Teana pursued, switching to rifle mode full-auto and equipping the bayonet. She led with the blade out, and the Elite barely avoided having its eye put out, the blade sliding along its helmet, its shields flaring. It roared, and Teana stuck the muzzle in its face, and held down the trigger. The weakened shields gave way, and the bullets tore through the alien’s skull, scattering violet blood on the bulkhead behind it. She then headed right, passing through the doorway as the Chief took the left-hand doorway. They caught a small pack of Grunts in-between them, and cut them down before they could flee down the nearby hallway. The Master Chief grabbed some ammo for his weapons from the ground near a rack, and then he & Teana passed through the corridor. At the far end of a corridor, two orange-armored Grunts came into view, and barely had time to scream before the two Spartans charged and simultaneously shoulder-checked them into the wall with all their might, cracking the diminutive aliens’ skulls. Rounding a few more corners, they reached a corridor, coming up behind a blue-armored Elite that was trading fire with a pair of marines at the other end. John flipped his pistol in his hand, and smashed the butt of the weapon into the back of the alien’s head. The lifeless Elite toppled to the ground. The marines – Mendoza and Jenkins – nodded a thanks. As John & Teana reached them and they walked into the next, more open corridor, the ship suddenly lurched violently in a manner unlike that of a plasma blast. “What the hell?!” Jenkins shouted. “Did something just hit us?” “Move it!” Mendoza shouted as he ran down the corridor. “Back to the airlocks!” The other three followed him, the Master Chief taking the lead. As they reached an airlock door, the two marines guarding it were hit by an explosion from it, their split-second-long screams being cut off as they smacked hard into the wall. From the busted airlock – or rather, from the Covenant boarding craft that had attached to it – came four Grunts and another blue-armored Elite. John opened fire on the Elite with his assault rifle, while Teana blasted the Grunts with dual pistols, and Mendoza peeked into the boarding craft and gunned down a Grunt straggler. The Elite’s shields gave way under the Chief’s assault, and it doubled over and collapsed holding its stomach, violet blood leaking out between its fingers. Another two bullets to the head finished it off. The two Spartans moved on, passing through corridors until they reached another firefight in progress. They went right, flanking the red-armored Elite and its five Grunts and catching them off-guard. Teana switched Mirage to Rifle Mode and opened fire on full-auto at the Elite, as John picked off the Grunts with his pistol. The little ones being taken care of, the three marines added their fire to Teana’s, and soon the Elite fell. Teana stripped two plasma grenades from the alien’s belt, adding them to her current arsenal. The Spartans headed right, hanging another right and following another few corridors, eventually encountering another firefight and again flanking the Covenant forces. Teana threw one of her plasma grenades, sticking the blue-armored Elite. The explosion killed it and the three Grunts under its command. The duo moved on again, reaching another airlock that had disgorged its contents of a half-dozen Grunts and two blue-armored Elites. John opened fire on the nearest Elite, taking it down, while Teana charged in and used her bayonet to slice through the other Elite’s shields and its neck. The Grunts flew into a panic, leaving them easy prey for a trio of marines that had been following the much faster Spartans for the purpose of getting any scraps the two armored soldiers left behind for them. “So, they’re using our lifepod airlocks to attach their boarding craft” Cortana observed. “That’s a tad unusually clever for them.” The Spartans moved on, crawling beneath a partially-lowered door, and came across a group of two red-armored Skirmishers and six orange-armored Grunts harassing a group of navy shipmen. The Chief used his pistol to blow the brains out the nearest Skirmisher, and Teana fired a three-round burst through the other’s upper chest. She then went full-auto and gunned down the Grunts, John pistol-whipping one that tried to escape. They moved on, John grabbing a few clips of assault rifle ammo from a fallen marine, and they soon reached a two-level room. On the bottom level, a few marines exchanged fire with the Covenant on the upper level – a red-armored Elite carrying a plasma repeater, three Grunts, and two Skirmishers with carbines. The avian aliens spotted the duo and focused fire on the Chief, and his shield alarm began to sound. “Keep your head down!” Cortana told him. “There’s two of us in here now, remember?” He said nothing, only drawing his pistol and shooting a Skirmisher through the throat. A marine scored a lucky shot with his assault rifle, a bullet passing through the other Skirmisher’s eye and ripping through its brain. Teana ran up the stairs, gunning down the Grunts and rolling forward to dodge the Elite’s shots. When she came back up, she had switched to single Longsword Mode. A rising swing chopped the blue plasma weapon in two, and a follow-up roundhouse kick hit the Elite’s abdomen and weakened its shields. By now, the Master Chief had made it up, and he fired with the pistol, draining the alien’s weakened shields and shooting it through the chest four times, dealing fatal damage. The Elite growled, tried to step toward them, and fell forward, dead. They passed through a nearby door, entering a long passageway containing another Elite Major, this time carrying a concussion rifle, as well as a small pack of Grunts. The Chief ran forward, dodging plasma shells, and opened fire with the assault rifle. The clip ran dry before he could finish it off, so he swung the weapon as a club, bashing the alien in the skull. UNSC weapon-crafting proved superior, and the rifle caved the Elite’s head in with not so much as a crack on the gun. The team moved on, taking down another pack of Grunts in a hallway where the lights had gone out. As they moved through the next area, passing through a hallway with windows overlooking the outside, they witnessed yet another Covenant war crime in progress. A quartet of life-pods launched from the Autumn. One made it through, but the other three were blown to bits mere seconds after launching. “They really don’t want us getting to that ring” Cortana mused. At the other end of the lifepod hallway, a Jackal and a trio of Grunts opened fire at the Spartans. The distance meant that the plasma bolts missed – though not by much – and Teana & John used single-shot rifle shots and pistol shots, respectively, to clear the area. At the end, they hung a right, finding a small door leading into a small, cramped, dark hallway. “We’ll have to take the maintenance access-ways” the Chief said to Teana. “Wanna take point, or should I?” “I’ll do it, sir” she replied, switching Mirage to one longsword and one plasma-bolt pistol. She entered the cramped passage, John right behind her, and they activated their VISR systems, the hallway being ‘lit up’ and outlined in yellow. They spent the next few minutes skulking through corridors, following the waypoints on John’s HUD and the arrow on Teana’s. Eventually, they came out into a dark room, finding a heavily damaged door blocking their progress. John simply punched it open, and the pair moved on, assassinating a few Grunts. They reached another long hallway, populated by two blue-armored Elites and a pack of Grunts. Teana switched Mirage to rifle mode and fired a 40mm grenade into the group, killing three of the seven Grunts and draining an Elite’s shields. She took the latter down with a single shot to the head. John, meanwhile, used his pistol to gun down the Grunts and then turned his assault rifle on the other Elite, shooting down its shields and gunning it down. They continued on, passing through the observation room overlooking a cryo-bay. “It looks like the Covenant wanted to catch you napping” Cortana said. They passed through, and up ahead a blue-armored Elite was caught in a sudden explosion, hurling its body to the deck. Around a corner, a quartet of Grunts was caught in another blast, killing two of them and wounding the others. John put them down with his assault rifle. The pair entered another access tunnel and made their way through, killing a few surprised Grunts. They came out into another firefight, blind-siding a red-armored Elite with dual full-auto fire, quickly taking its shields down and killing it. They then shifted attention to the Grunts, killing them with the assistance of a pair of marines. The now-four-person-group moved forward, cutting through a passageway and hitting another occupied hallway, this one with two blue-armored Elites and three Grunts. The two Spartans each picked an Elite to fill full of lead with their rifles, while the marine pair gunned down the Grunts. They moved on, and soon found the lifeboat area. In it, a pack of Grunts & Jackals stood between them and freedom, led by a white-armored Elite Ultra. Fortunately, a nearby barricade held a half-dozen frag grenades, which the two Spartans put to good use. Two blasts killed the Jackals and drained the Elite’s shields, and Teana gunned down the hapless alien. The pair then vaulted over the barricade, shooting down the fleeing Grunts. “There’s one last lifeboat” Cortana told them. “Get aboard before it launches!” A marine stumbled and fell trying to get aboard the lifepod, and the Master Chief picked him up and hurled him in. “Now would be a very good time to leave!” Cortana said. John & Teana climbed in, the latter taking a seat while the former hit the button to close the door. “Punch it” he said to the pilot. “Aye-aye, sir” she replied. With a bang, the lifepod shot out of the airlock, heading for the massive ringworld. “We’re disengaged” the pilot said. “Goin’ for minimum safe distance.” “We’re gonna make it, aren’t we, sir?” a panicky marine said. “I don’t wanna die out here!” “Easy, soldier” Teana replied to him. “We ain’t dead yet.” The Chief walked toward the front, gazing out at the humongous construct rapidly growing in his vision. “What the hell is that thing, Lieutenant?!” a marine shouted. “Hell if I know,” the pilot replied, “but we’re landin’ on it.” “The Autumn! She’s going down!” Nearby (in space-flight terms), the Pillar of Autumn sped past, plasma weapons smashing into it in a vain attempt to prevent it landing on the “sacred” ring. “I knew it!” Cortana shouted. “The Autumn is accelerating! Keyes is going in manually!” “Heads up, everyone! This is it! We’re entering the ring’s atmosphere in five!” “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather take a seat?” Cortana asked her carrier. “We’ll be fine” he responded. The edges of the pod began to heat from friction with the ring’s atmosphere. “If I still had fingers, they’d be crossed…” Cortana remarked. Spoiler for Ch. 13 - Halo: Halo Installation 04 September 19th, 2552 Flawless Cowboy “We’re coming in too fast!” The lifepod shot over a hill, approaching a grassy stretch of land bordering a cliff. Four large flaps had extended from it, and flames shot from a pair of jets on the front, trying to slow the craft’s descent. Suddenly, the flaps broke away. “Damn! Airbrake failure!” the pilot shouted. “They blew too early!” The ground was approaching rapidly. The marine that the Master Chief had tossed aside was gripping tightly to his seat, muttering a constant litany of swear words. “I'm losin’ her! Brace for impact!” At the moment before impact, Cross Mirage sprang into action, deeming his master’s survival more important than her wishes. With the speed only an AI can manage, he partially undid her Linker Core seal, drawing a burst of magic through/from her and into himself. With it, he cast a high-strength barrier spell, the toughest he could muster, and surrounded Teana and John with it, also casting an inertial dampening spell to protect them from the incoming g-forces. The impact was devastating. Teana’s restraints came free and she was thrown to the floor, landing next to John who was also blasted off his feet. The rest of the pod’s occupants didn’t fare so well; the crash tore the restraints off many of them, and they were thrown about like ragdolls. The rear door came off, and a few were ejected from the craft. Those whose restraints didn’t break had their necks snapped by the sudden stop, along with the g-forces wreaking havoc on their bodies. The pilot’s head was slammed forward into her instrument panel, cracking both her helmet and her skull like an egg. After the craft had finally come to a stop, the barrier spell faded, and Mirage re-did the core seal. The spell had done its work; John and Teana were the only ones to survive the crash. “Chief? Lanstar? Are you two all right? Can you move?” John groaned lightly as he shook the cobwebs out of his head and got to his feet, and then turned to help his smaller partner to hers. They stared at the scene of bloody devastation, and he sighed sadly. He retrieved his assault rifle and pistol, and scavenged some ammo for them from the fallen troopers. He stepped out, Teana following, and they looked around. The first thing they noticed was the sight of the ground ever-so-slowly curving up into the sky, stretching all the way around, and coming back down behind them. “We should move” he said to her. “The Covenant might send someone to investigate the crash site.” She nodded, and Cortana cut in. “Warning! I’ve detected multiple Covenant dropships on approach. I recommend moving into those hills. If we’re lucky, the Covenant will believe that everyone aboard this lifeboat died in the crash.” As the two started heading left toward a ‘bridge’, Cortana muttered “I’m reading thousands of types of flora. The ring’s ecosystem is incredibly sophisticated.” As they reached the bridge and worked their way across, a Spirit flew into the area they’d entered, escorted by two Banshees. The Spartan pair made it across the bridge and started skulking up the hill through the shadows cast by boulders and trees, soon finding a place to stop and hide. After about half a minute, the Banshees and Spirit left the area, and they continued up the hill. As they went up, five Grunts and a Skirmisher made their way down. They spotted the Spartans, and started making their way closer to get in range. John & Teana didn’t have that issue, and used their pistols to quickly dispatch the newcomers. They continued to the top of the hill and hopped off a short ledge, and the sounds of gunfire were audible around the next ‘corner’. They went through just in time to see a Spirit drop off a half-dozen Grunts and a red-armored Elite. They charged the Covenant, focusing full-auto rifle fire to take down the Elite, while the marines took down the distracted Grunts. After the area was clear, two marines ran up. “Good to see you two, sirs” Pvt. Bisenti said. “For a while there, I thought we were the only ones to make it off the Autumn.” “Status” Chief asked. “It’s a mess, sir” First-Sergeant Johnson replied. “We’re scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up I thought we were cooked.” “Don’t worry, First-Sergeant” Cortana replied. “We’ll stay here until evac arrives.” Right after she said this, a marine called attention to an incoming dropship. The two Spartans and the old marine raced across the area, just in time to watch a Spirit drop off four Jackals and three Grunts. A grenade from the Master Chief killed two of the Jackals, and a 40mm rifle grenade from Teana killed the trio of Grunts. The other two Jackals were taken down by Johnson using the hand-then-head method. Soon another Spirit dropped in on a hill a few dozen meters away, dropping a red-armored Elite, three Skirmishers, and three Grunts. A marine with a DMR he’d held onto since Reach took out one of the Skirmishers, and a grenade from another marine took out the Grunts. Johnson used his pistol to kill the other two Skirmishers, while the Chief and Teana opened fire on the Elite, draining its shields and taking it down. Soon after, a Phantom flew in and hovered above the spot where John & Teana had come from, and it dropped off two Elites – an Ultra with a concussion rifle and a Major with a needle rifle – and four needler-wielding Grunts. The marines took cover, but one of them didn’t do so fast enough, and a trio of needles from a Grunt buried themselves in his neck. When they went off, his head was almost completely torn off. Teana decided that the Ultra was the biggest threat, and pulled out the other plasma grenade she’d picked up on the Pillar of Autumn. She threw it, and it stuck to the faceplate of the white-armored Elite’s helmet. The alien barely had time to roar in outrage before the blast vaporized its head. She then ran and picked up its concussion rifle, turning it on the red-armored Elite. Four shots took it down, and the last two of the clip killed two of the Grunts. She bent over and grabbed three more clips from the dead Elite, placing on in the gun, while the Chief took the rest of the Grunts out. Finally, the area was clear. “This is Pelican Echo-419” a woman’s voice came over the comm. “Anybody read me? Repeat: any UNSC personnel respond.” “Roger, Echo-419” Johnson replied. “This is Fireteam Charlie. We read you. Is that you, Foehammer?” “Roger, Fireteam Charlie” the women said, as her dropship entered the area and began to circle the odd tower as it descended. “Good to hear from ya!” “If you’re not too busy, we could use a lift. We have survivors to transport to the command shuttle.” “On my way” Just then, three lifeboats flew overhead, heading ‘north’ and disappearing from view. “If those lifeboats make it down,” Cortana said, “the Covenant are going to be right on top of them. Foehammer, we need you to disengage your Warthog. The Chief, Noble-7, and I are gonna see if we can save some soldiers.” “Roger, Cortana” the dropship flew in, dropping the M12 Warthog it had been carrying. “Saddle up and give ‘em hell!” The Master Chief hopped in the driver’s seat, while Teana manned the gun. As the marines climbed aboard the Pelican, the Chief drove the Warthog down a nearby hill, approaching a clearly-artificial cave entrance. “Okay,” Cortana said, “definitely not a natural part of the terrain. And, logic dictates, if someone built it, it leads somewhere, probably through this mountain and out the other side, near where some of the lifepods landed. Let’s go.” The Warthog entered the cave, driving over a few humps and bumps. “I’ve hacked into the Covenant battle-net” Cortana said. “Hmph. They’re actually broadcasting tactical data on unencrypted channels. We should show them exactly who they’re dealing with.” The vehicle continued on, making turns and leaping over a small gap, and eventually came to a large chamber. In it, a pack of Grunts and Jackals awaited them. John splattered two Grunts with the Warthog, and Teana raked chaingun fire across some more, cutting through most of the Grunts. John hopped out, running in and taking a Jackal by surprise, the momentum of his strike knocking the alien heels-over-head. A stomp to the throat killed it. A blue-armored Elite tried to rush the Warthog, only to be cut down by the chaingun before it could get close. The Chief used his assault rifle to take down the Jackals, and then headed up a narrow ramp. When he rounded a blind corner at the top, he nearly literally ran into a red-armored Elite. He reacted faster than the alien did, snapping a left jab that stunned the Elite. He then pulled a plasma grenade from his belt, primed it, smashed it into his foe’s stomach, and kicked the alien away. The grenade went off just as the alien landed several feet away, and John’s shields easily withstood the blast. With the way clear, he walked along the passageway, looking for a way to extend a bridge or something across the chasm blocking their path. He soon found a glowing holo-panel, decorated by multiple circle-based symbols, a language he’d never seen before yet found strangely, hauntingly familiar. Without even knowing why, he reached out and hit a certain symbol. In response, a series of thick metal struts deployed from either side of the chasm. They began to glow at their edges, and a glowing bridge sprang into existence. “They actually managed to make some sort of hard-light technology” Cortana said softly. “Just who built this ring, anyway?” He made his way back to the Warthog and hopped in, cautiously driving toward the light-bridge. Teana, who had seen this sort of tech back on Midchilda (where it was actually rather commonplace, though hardly ever on this scale), ran a quick scan with Cross Mirage and then assured the Master Chief that it was safe. The Warthog rolled across the bridge, reaching the unoccupied other side of the chasm and heading into another tunnel. “New traffic on the Covenant battle-net” Cortana said. “A lot more crew made it off the Autumn than I had predicted – the Captain really gave them hell! If we can find Captain Keyes and the other survivors, we have a chance to coordinate an effective guerilla resistance.” After a short while of driving, they finally reached daylight, coming out into a large, hilly area. Reunion Tour The Warthog drove up the steep hill, finding a lifepod. There were a few bloodstains, but nowhere near large enough to count for even one human bleeding to death. There weren’t any dead bodies, either. There were, however, multiple sets of tracks leading away from the pod, all of them human. There was also a sniper rifle hidden partially under a nearby rock, which Teana quickly claimed. She also found two spare clips for it inside the pod’s storage locker. The Chief thought that, with the sniper rifle plus a concussion rifle and her Device, she was a little over-armed for the current situation, but figured that a little too much was better than not enough. And it didn’t seem to slow her down any. After she hopped back on the gun, he hit the gas and drove the Warthog in the direction of the tracks, soon coming over a small hill and finding another local structure, a massive ball/beam of light shooting up from it and into the sky. This structure was rather large, consisting of three buildings linked by an underground system, according to Cross Mirage’s seismic scan (an ability that Reach’s R&D had installed in him). On the nearest structure, a red-armored Elite stood, staring off into the distance to the right (the alien’s left). Teana pulled up her sniper rifle, aimed, and the Elite’s thoughts were interrupted by a 14.5mm bullet passing through them. The other Covenant in the area, however, were alerted by the rifle’s booming crack, and two Jackals came out to investigate. The Master Chief drove down the slope, and Teana hosed them down with the M41. They drove forward, parking next to the tallest structure, and John hopped out, using his pistol to put down several Grunts as he then worked his way up the ramp. Meanwhile, Teana turned the chaingun on a pack of Grunts exiting the other small structure. John encountered and dispatched the two Elites at the top, and then fired down at the few surviving Grunts. After the way was clear, multiple friendly contacts were detected coming up from underground. Five marines and three naval crewmen came out from the underground area, blinking their eyes a bit at the increase in brightness. “Echo-419, this is Cortana. We have survivors and need immediate dust-off.” “Roger, Cortana. On my way. I’ve spotted additional lifeboats in your area: one near a rockslide, and another near the head of the river. Hard to see from my altitude, but it looks like there are more survivors. There are too many Covenant near ‘em for me to just swoop in and pick them up, though.” “Roger that, Foehammer. We’ll clear the area.” The Pelican touched down, and the marines and crewmen climbed aboard. John got back in the driver’s seat and took off, driving over a nearby small hill and back into the first area. A pair of Jackals opened fire, the plasma bolts sizzling against the Warthog’s armor. The chaingun made quick work of them. The Chief followed the river, flattening a Skirmisher on the way, and soon reached another small area, containing another emitter tower, a force of Covenant, and – up on a steep hill – five marines. The Chief drove in a bit, allowing Teana to gun down several Jackals and an Elite, and then drove up a less steep part of the hill, reaching the top and finding the marines. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Chief” a tired marine said. “We’re in a bad way; we’ve got wounded.” “We have a dropship inbound, soldier” John replied. “But we’ve gotta clear out these Covvies before she can land. Think you can help us with that?” “Hell, Chief. With two Spartans here now, I really don’t think it’ll take that long.” As if on cue, a Spirit flew into the area, coming to a stop on the other side of the emitter tower and dropping off its troops before flying away. Teana took position near a boulder, against which leaned a fallen marine and three more clips of sniper ammo. She tossed the Chief her concussion rifle and ammo, and then she took aim and blew the head off a blue-armored Elite. She fired again, and a bullet tore through two Grunts. The marines walked to the edge of the hill and fired down at the approaching Grunts and Jackals, killing many. Suddenly, one of them escaped death by a few centimeters, as a red-armored Elite wielding a carbine came up the slope to the right. The Chief turned and fired the concussion rifle, and a marine pitched in with his assault rifle. The alien quickly fell, one of the marines grabbing its weapon and using it to head-shot several Grunts. Soon the area was clear, and again Echo-419 swooped in, picking up its battered passengers as John & Teana hopped aboard the Warthog and drove off. “I’ve picked up some news from the Covenant battle-net,” Cortana said, “reports that the Covenant have located and secured the Autumn’s crash site. The good news is the Captain’s still alive. The bad news is the Covenant have captured the entire surviving command crew. Let’s hurry and find the final lifeboat, so we can link up with the rest of the survivors.” They drove on, encountering a pack of Jackals and Skirmishers standing between them and a passage through the rocks. The M41 cut them down quickly, and the Warthog drove on. Soon they encounter an area filled with massive boulders in the middle, and gunfire could be heard coming from it. To the right lay the lifepod, with a single dead crewman lying next to it. Teana opened fire on a blue-armored Elite with the chaingun, killing it, and then John drove the Hog to just outside the boulder field. He and Teana dismounted and jogged in, finding a half-dozen marines and a navy crewman. A Spirit flew in just outside the boulder field, and the two Spartans quickly ran back to the Warthog, figuring to use its firepower to help drive off the Covenant. The M41’s .50-caliber rounds tore through the pack of Grunts, while the blue-armored Elite was taken down by DMR fire from atop the tallest boulder. Another Spirit flew in, dropping off another pack of hostiles – Skirmishers this time – that met the same fate. Finally, a Phantom settled in next to the lifepod, dropping off a Ghost and a team of four red-armored Elites. Teana used the chaingun to take out the Ghost, and John rammed an Elite, crushing its torso with the Warthog’s front bumper. He leapt out, firing his concussion rifle at another Elite, while Teana took on the other two, twin longswords blazing. The Chief’s foe went down, a plasma shell blasting a huge hole in its chest, while Teana slice the leg off an Elite with one sword, swinging the other up at an angle to slice through its head as it fell to the ground. The Chief reloaded and fired the concussion rifle at the last Elite, stunning it and draining its shields. A sword swing decapitated it, and the area was clear. “Echo-419, we have the last group of survivors and are ready for pickup.” “Roger, Warrant Officer. I’m on my way.” “New traffic on the Covenant battle-net” Cortana said. “I’ve found Captain Keyes! He’s being held on a Covenant battlecruiser, the Truth and Reconciliation, a ship I disabled before we abandoned the Autumn. The battlecruiser touched down on a desert plateau roughly 300 kilometers up-spin.” The Pelican picked up the marine marksman atop the boulder and then flew down to the open area, touching down and allowing the remaining personnel, and the two Spartans, to board. “We should move out, Foehammer,” Cortana said, “and then we’ll need your help on a rescue mission.”

2011-02-21, 17:36	Link #29372
Nanya01 Left for TFF Author Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Frozen Hell of the North Age: 41	Heading out the door for work, but, here you go. Shine 1 -45 Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Shine 46: Back on Earth... Luna looked at Kyouya as he led her and Arisa to the dojo. "Are they always like that?" "Newlyweds?" Kyouya asked, getting a nod from her. "Every day since they got married, yep. Dad spoils her so much some days." Arisa made a face. "Nanoha told me once that they were really loving, but that seems silly!" "You're lucky, I live with them." Arf grumbled and sighed as they got to the dojo. "Sadly, mom isn't letting me take the day off, so I'll see you after school." Waving Arf goodbye, the trio stepped into the dojo. Luna grimaced slightly, it was a touch small, she preferred learning over an open mountain, but Lina did say it was a good place to being practice with Arisa. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Arisa nodded to the older woman. "Yeah, I mean, if I'm going to have a power like this, why should I let it stay dormant and not do anything with it? Nanoha, Fate, Yuuno, they're all so awesome, and all I can do is just sit back and watch." She squeezed her fists tightly. "Even if I can't do as much as they can, I want to help somehow." Besides, she was tired of being left behind when her friends went out and did dangerous stuff together. Arisa nearly screamed as a wooden sword stopped inches from her nose. Kyouya was looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Uh..." "That attitude would get you killed quickly. Dad hammered that into myself and Miyuki when we started training, mom would always back him up." He withdrew his training sword from her face. "It's okay to want to help people, but if you have no idea what your limits are, you'll likely end up hurting yourself." Luna raised an eyebrow as she looked at Kyouya. "You're a swordsman?" She hadn't pegged Lina to have taught any of her children how to fight with a sword. Kyouya smirked at her. "I'm pretty decent. Dad's better than me and Miyuki's pretty good too. I think you're pretty good too." Luna blinked a few times as he tossed her a training sword, which she caught with ease. "You can tell without seeing me fight?" "You hold yourself like you know what you're doing, you don't move fluidly enough to be someone skilled in hand-to-hand like my dad is, so I figure you use some sort of weapon, and since mom sometimes spars with Miyuki or myself, I think that you're a swords woman, since you are her sister." Luna laughed softly. "All without seeing me fight, huh? That's impressive." "Um..." Arisa gulped as the two started circling each other slowly. "What should..." "Go sit by the corner and watch." Luna said to her. "I hope you don't mind me going full out?" Kyouya pulled out two wooden swords from somewhere, they were a touch shorter than the one that Luna was using. "By all means, it would be insulting otherwise." "Well then." Luna held her sword to the side and grinned as her body started to glow brightly. "I do hope you don't mind fighting the Knight of Cephied." Kyouya just narrowed his eyes for a moment before he disappeared from view, Luna following a moment later. Arisa's eyes widened, she couldn't see either of them, but she could feel something in the room, not to mention the clang of wood on wood and the air as it suddenly kicked up into a windstorm inside. Covering her eyes, she wondered what was going on. And why were things starting to look weird to her? (---) Kyouya grunted as he parried one of Luna's strikes before stabbing forward with his other sword. He barely clipped her shirt before they were moving away from each other again. There weren't too many people who would hold their sword to the side like she was doing, seemingly leaving herself open like that. Considering how fast she could react to his attacks, he knew she wasn't an amateur. If his mother's stories had any truth to them, then his aunt had to be an incredible swords woman, just out of necessity if nothing else. Rushing in, he found that he was right, even with his shorter and easier to swing swords, she was still able to parry, counter and block each strike. Landing on the ground and sliding back, Kyouya took a deep breath and changed his stance, spinning the swords so that he was holding the blades pointed towards his elbows instead of forward, and rushed in. "Interesting way of holding your weapons." Luna admitted as she took a step back before stabbing forward. Her eyes widened as he parried the attack with one sword and slashed forward with his other one. Twisting to avoid the attack, she drove an elbow into his side. Channeling power into her weapon she slashed down at him just as he swung at her, ignoring the elbow strike. The strikes forced the two of them apart, panting hard. Kyouya grimaced, she was damn good, the bruise he was going to have on his body could attest to that. He blinked as his shirt tore open diagonally, revealing a bruise that covered the left side of his chest. Not that Luna fared any better, her shirt tore open just under her breasts, revealing a rather red mark on her stomach. "Good thing we're not using real blades." Luna chuckled as she moved forward, this was starting to get fun. (---) Arisa blinked just as Kyouya and Luna stopped moving. It had been weird, she had almost been able to see them clearly before they stopped. When they spoke quickly and started to move again, she felt something incredibly hot bubbling up from inside of her. Before she knew what was going on, she was moving. (---) Kyouya and Luna both jumped back as a pillar of blue fire appeared between them. Turning, they saw Arisa there, a sword of blue fire in her right hand and two wings of blue fire behind her as she panted. "Can... I play to?" "Excitement, huh?" Luna chuckled softly as she looked at Arisa. "What?" Kyouya looked at Luna, then at Arisa as the latter stood up fully. "Each Shinzoku responds better to a different emotion. Vrabazard responds to rage, Ragradia apparently responded to helplessness, and the Blue Dragon apparently responds to excitement." "Uh..." Arisa looked at her left arm, which was covered in blue flames. "How do I turn this off?" Luna smirked at her. "That's what I'm going to help you with." __________________ My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.

2011-02-21, 18:04	Link #29373
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for Teana's Travels Book 1 Chapter 14 - Truth & Reconciliation: Halo Installation 04 Near Covenant Sanghelios-class Battlecruiser Truth & Reconciliation September 20th, 2552 0345 hours The Pelican flew low through the night air, weaving between rock outcroppings as Cortana briefed the team – John, Teana, 1Sgt. Johnson, and seven marines. Teana was still fuming a little, even hours after what had happened. The absolute jerkass ODST Major Silva had openly insulted the Spartans, including her fallen partners, calling them “freaks” who “were destined by nature to die”. She had absolutely blown up on the man, insubordination be damned, her enraged shouts carrying clear throughout half the base. It had taken every single ounce of her control not to rush forward and rip the man apart. And then he’d directly insulted Noble Team and made what Teana took as a veiled insult to her brother. Her lightning-fast punch had nearly caved in Silva’s chest, broken rib edges sticking out through the skin of his chest, and John had needed to use every bit of his Spartan strength to physically restrain her from literally ripping him to shreds with her bare hands. The pure, hateful rage in Teana’s wild eyes – the same hatred that had left TSAB Task Force 6’s top mages shrinking away from her – had genuinely terrified Silva, who recognized that this girl was not just mouthing off and tossing threats, but was actually trying to kill him for what he had said. And he’d also seen the look in John’s eyes, seeing that the man was barely controlling his own emotions and wrestling with the decision to just let Teana kill him. Silva had quickly vacated the office after struggling to his feet, leaving his considerably more Spartan-friendly second-in-command, Lieutenant Melissa McKay, to debrief the pair on the rescue op while he staggered to the emergency infirmary. She had expressed hope that Captain Keyes could be found, mainly because he had a great deal of respect for the Spartans and would likely keep Teana safe from any of Silva’s attempted reprisals. ‘Another fucking Ackerson’ John had thought of the old ODST. “The Covenant have captured Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their battlecruisers, the Truth & Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position approximately 300 meters above the other end of this plateau.” The Pelican found a good landing spot and came in, the rear door opening. “So how do we get inside the ship if it’s over 1,000 feet in the air?” a marine asked. “The corps issued me a rifle, not wings or a jetpack.” “There’s a gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface” Johnson replied. “That’s our ticket in.” “Once we get inside the ship,” Cortana continued, “I should be able to lock onto the tracking signal from Captain Keyes’ neural implant.” The Pelican’s rear ramp made contact with the ground. John & Teana activated their VISR systems, allowing them clear sight in the dark night that greeted them. “Hit it, marines! Go, go, go!” Johnson ordered. “The corps ain’t payin’ us by the hour!” “Stick to the higher ground on the right.” Cortana said. “We should be able to recon the Covenant position without being spotted. I’m detecting Covenant stationary guns near the next pass. I recommend using your sniper rifle to take out the gunners while I call for marine support.” She then keyed the comm. “Get ready to move in to support us, First-Sergeant. The Master Chief is going to covertly take out as many of the Covenant as he can. Don’t open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise. Warrant Officer Lanstar will remain back with you, and will lead the charge once the Chief’s cover is blown.” John moved on quietly and took up position behind the rocks, readying his SRS99C sniper rifle and checking to make sure the pack containing 16 extra clips for the rifle was secure, as was his assault rifle. He looked out, sizing up his repertoire of targets: two old-model Shades, each manned by a Grunt; four Jackals; two Skirmishers; and six other Grunts. He looked through the scope, picking his first four targets and making sure he’d be able to switch between them quickly enough after each shot. Satisfied, he fired, and a Grunt manning a Shade leaned back, the top of its head blown away. As the Covenant yelped in surprise, the other Shade was deprived of a living gunner. Next, the two Skirmishers fell, and a Grunt pointed at the rock he was peeking out from behind and yelled as the Chief ejected the spent magazine and placed another in. He clicked his comm., and in response the main attack force swept into the area. Teana fired a rifle grenade that took out three surprised Jackals, while the marines quickly took out the rest of the Covenant before they could organize a counter. John leapt down and walked over to join them, and the group moved a bit ahead, passing through a gap and entering a natural walkway bordering a cliff edge. A pair of Jackals ran down the walkway toward them, and John gunned them down with his assault rifle. The group began to move forward. “Stop” Cortana told them suddenly. “I’ve detected movement up ahead. Marines, stay back for a second.” John and Teana crept forward, passing through some branches of a tree that were low enough to brush the ground, and spotted a blue-armored Elite standing atop a 10-foot rock wall, standing next to another old-model Shade. John sniped the Elite while Teana used a rifle single-shot to kill the Grunt. Two more Grunts, carrying needlers, came up around the rock from the left, and a red-armored Elite popped out from behind the rock wall to the right. Teana took down the Grunts with a pair of head-shots, and John opened fire on the Elite with his assault rifle. The marines ran up, Johnson shooting the Elite with his DMR, and soon the alien’s shields gave way, a DMR bullet passing through its skull while a trio of assault rifle bullets buried themselves in its chest. The group moved on, climbing atop the mound of rock and gunning down the Grunts there. The Master Chief spotted another blue-armored Elite Minor running toward them along the next rock-ledge path, and he opened fire with the AR, firing in five-round bursts to ensure accuracy. The low-ranking alien’s shields failed after 15 hits, and the next five tore through its chest. It slipped and fell, falling over the edge of the cliff. The squad continued on, carefully making their way around the rocks, the marines hanging back as John & Teana advanced. Over their heads was the ‘nose’ of the T&R. John crept left, killing two sleeping Grunts, while Teana went right, crouch-walking in and assassinating a blue-armored Elite, burying her combat knife in its neck. She immediately looked right and fired a single shot through the head of a Grunt manning an old-model Shade, as the Master Chief killed a Jackal pair and then reached the end of his little detour, and used his sniper rifle to kill a red-armored Elite a few dozen meters away from him. Teana hopped into the Shade, opening fire on a trio of Jackals on a rock ‘bridge’ on the other side of the current area, and then turning it on an approaching blue-armored Elite. Johnson used his DMR to kill the Grunt manning the Shade next to the bridge. About a minute later, a Spirit flew into the little half-canyon the group currently occupied, sweeping in and depositing its troops – five Grunts and a red-armored Elite – in a depression near the group’s positions. Teana kept the gun silent until the craft flew away, and she then opened fire on the Covenant, blasting the Elite with high-power plasma bolts that burned through its shields and its torso. The Master Chief let loose on the Grunts with his assault rifle. Tia then hopped out of the gun, and the group moved on, passing underneath the bridge and reaching a narrow passage between the rocks. The Chief’s VISR gave him a yellow outline to alert him to the incoming cloaked Elite, and he opened fire. The 14 rounds still in his current magazine weakened the alien’s shields and forced it to de-cloak, and the marines finished it off as the Chief reloaded. They moved through, Teana throwing a grenade that killed the four sleeping Grunts and then shooting the Grunt manning the nearby turret through the head. An Elite hopped down from next to it, and fell under concentrated fire of the marines. The Chief used his sniper rifle to kill the three other turret gunners in the area, noticing that these other three Shades were the newer model. Overhead, the 1.78-kilomer-long Covenant battlecruiser, 295 meters above, filled the sky. “Mother of God,” a marine muttered. “I never thought I’d ever get this close to one of these things.” A Phantom flew overhead, dropping in on the other side of the lift and depositing a pack of Grunts. Johnson effortlessly took them out with his DMR. A group of Covenant then descended from the gravity lift, consisting of two blue-armored Elites and 10 Grunts. The Chief took out an Elite with his sniper rifle, while Teana ran to the nearest Shade and climbed in, using its guns to down the other Elite and five Grunts. The rest of the Grunts were taken out by the marines. Another batch of Covenant descended, this one made up of Jackals and Skirmishers led by a red-armored Elite. A sniper’s bullet ended the Elite’s life, and two more killed a pair of red-armored Skirmishers. As the Chief reloaded, Teana poured heavy plasma fire at four of the Jackals, overloading their shields and roasting them. A grenade from one of the marines killed two more Jackals and a Skirmisher, and the Master Chief used his assault rifle to take care of the rest. A third Covenant force descended, a group of Grunts and Jackals and two red-armored Elites led by a white-armored Elite Ultra. A sniper bullet punched into the Ultra’s chest, making its shields flare, and a second round tore through its weakened shields and made violet blood and chunks of bone & gore shoot out the other side of the Elite’s helmet. Johnson took down one of the red-armored Elites with his DMR, while the marines focused fire on the other, which dove into cover before it could be killed. Teana blasted Grunts with the Shade, and the Master Chief threw a grenade in an arc, aiming for the in-cover Elite. It landed, and the alien’s just-recharged shields were drained again, the blast wave shoving him out of cover and leaving him vulnerable to a killing shot from Johnson. The Chief then picked off the remaining Grunts, while another two grenades from the troops killed the last Jackals. After several seconds of quiet, two large shapes descended from the gravity lift: a Hunter pair. They roared, raised their guns, and fired, one shooting an explosive bolt and the other firing a burning green beam. One marine was vaporized from mid-torso up by the bolt, and the other was hit in the upper chest by the beam and sent flying backward, his chest blown open and the lower part of his skull blown away, leaving his neck spine visible from the front. By some unfortunate luck, the marine, his mouth and nose gone, his burnt eyes having fallen out, and his heart & lungs blown away, was still alive and conscious. He still knew where his weapons were, though, and immediately blindly grabbed his pistol from his holster and shot himself in the head, ending his own misery. Teana leapt out of her Shade seconds before another green explosive bolt blew it to bits. She charged in toward a Hunter, the Chief running at the other, both dodging a projectile of green death, and ran in close, rolling out of the way of the Hunters’ shield strikes. The marines watched as, despite fighting different opponents over a dozen meters away from each other, the two Spartans moved in synch, pulling full-auto triggers at the same time and aiming at the same spots on the backs of their respective opponents. One Hunter swung its shield behind itself horizontally, the other swinging overhead for a hammer strike. Again the Spartans dodged, and again they fired at the same time. Soon, both Hunters toppled to the ground dead simultaneously. As they walked back over to the marines, one asked “How did you two do that?” “Do what?” they responded at the same time, and then looked at each other in mild surprise. The marine was further shocked, as this meant that the two had fought in synch without realizing it. Johnson just chalked it up to another Spartan thing. He turned to the marine and said “Pick your jaw up off the ground, boy, before someone steps on it.” “This is Echo-419 to ground team” Foehammer radioed. “Is the LZ clear?” “Affirmative, Foehammer” Cortana responded. “The LZ is clear for you to fly in, pick up the ground team, and drop off the boarding team.” “Roger, Cortana. Coming in.” The Pelican flew in, stopping next to the squad. Six ODSTs disembarked from the dropship, and 1Sgt. Johnson & his marines climbed aboard the craft. The eight-strong group moved into the gravity lift’s beam, taking position around the center of the massive metal base. “Once we’re inside the ship,” Cortana explained, “I can home in on the Captain’s command neural interface implant. He’ll most likely be in or near the ship’s brig, which should narrow our search.” In The Belly Of The Beast One by one, the team was lifted up off the ground and rapidly rose straight up through the air, heading for the ship (one ODST cried “Yeeha!”). After everyone was aboard, the circular door closed beneath them, and they dropped four inches to the ground. “I’ve got a good lock on the Captain’s CNI transponder” Cortana said. “No Covenant defenses detected.” “What? No Covenant?” an ODST said. “Maybe nobody’s home…” Right on cue, a door slid open, and a red-armored Elite with a sword rushed in. He was cut down quickly by John & Teana. The other doors began to slide open. “Contacts! Lots of contacts!” “‘No Covenant’. You just had to open your fucking mouth!” The team immediately opened fire in all directions, each one focusing on a target. John & Teana focused on the Elites and Skirmishers, while the ODSTs let loose on the Grunts and Jackals. After a few waves, a nearby large door slid open, revealing a pair of Jackal marksmen. One fired a needle rifle shot at an ODST, but the shot bounced off the trooper’s reinforced thick titanium chestplate. Teana used two rifle single-shots to kill them. The team ran through the door and down the hallway, but soon reached a locked door. “I can’t bypass it, sir” one trooper said. “We can use the side passages to find a way around” Cortana said. “We’d be sitting ducks in those narrow spaces” the ODST Sergeant said. “We can hold this position if you two can find a way around and open the door from the other side.” John & Teana backtracked into the grav-lift room and then went through the door to their immediate right, following the corridor. Two spaced-out Grunts were dealt with, and soon they reached another large room. They were on the upper level, overlooking a room containing four Grunts, a Jackal, and an unoccupied Ghost. They moved to the other side of the room, entering another corridor and following it down to the first floor, silently killing a Jackal halfway down. They entered the room again, and on the count of three opened fire on the Grunts, taking them down. The Jackal spun around and tried to shoot, but was killed before it could raise its shield. The Chief walked over to the door control and hit a button on the display; the door slid open, and the ODSTs piled in. A door on the other side of the room opened, and a trooper carrying a DMR quickly snapped it up to his shoulder and fired three shots, killing the trio of Grunts before they could even see who was shooting them. Following Cortana’s direction, the squad moved toward that door. “Everyone stay cool” a trooper said. “Yell if you see anything.” The team moved through several corridors, dealing with Grunts and Jackals as they went, and soon reached a hangar, coming in on the bottom floor. A snipe-shot from the Master Chief killed the lone blue Elite on the lower floor, and he then aimed up at the top of the huge wall that divided the hangar into two halves, shooting a red-armored Elite and the Grunt manning an old-model Shade. Teana and the ODSTs gunned down the Grunts and Jackals. Another dozen enemies came from the door to the right and from the door that the group had entered from; the Master Chief used his assault rifle to kill the blue-armored Elite, while everyone else took out the Grunts, Jackals, and Skirmishers. The squad then moved past the room divider to the other side of the hangar, engaging more hostiles there and clearing them out. They checked a few doors, to no avail. “Hey, which way should we go now?” a trooper asked. “All the doors on this level are locked.” “Wait a moment” Cortana responded. “I’m going to access the Covenant battle-net and locate an override code to open a door.” The doors on the other side of the hangar opened, and several Covenant came through, heading for the humans’ side of the hangar. “Better hurry, Cortana. We can’t hold them off forever.” “Working on it.” The Chief then heard her rather annoyed voice muttering “I’d like to see you crack a 128,000-bit modulating encryption key…” Teana fired a rifle grenade into the approaching enemy group, killing four Grunts. The ODST Sergeant with a DMR opened fire on a blue-armored Elite, who was unable to get to cover and was killed. The Skirmishers ran into the room, plasma pistols firing; Teana took one down with a single-shot from Mirage Rifle, while another was caught in an ODST’s assault rifle fire. The next two minutes were a somewhat hectic firefight, and one of the ODSTs got grazed by a needle rifle shot, though it did not stick into him and thus did not detonate in his arm. After the last Elite fell, a door behind them in the corner opened, and two Hunters strode out, the door resealing behind them. An ODST tossed a grenade, and it went off at their feet, stunning and lightly injuring them. They roared and fired, their guns in beam configuration. Teana ducked under a sweeping beam, her shields flaring from the heat, and fired a rifle grenade. The explosive hit a Hunter in the ‘face’, and orange blood splattered to the ground. The wounded beast stepped forward and returned fire, its movements noticeably slower now. Teana ran towards it diagonally, palming a frag grenade. She rolled under its swipe and between its legs, coming up to her feet behind it. Before it could react, she punched into the Lekgolo colony, triggered the grenade, and pulled her hand out of the creature. She backpedaled, and the explosive tore the Hunter apart from the inside. The other Hunter roared in fury, turning to face her… and exposing its back to massed fire from the Chief and the ODSTs. The Hunter barely realized its fatal mistake before it went down, hitting the deck with a thud. “Got it!” Cortana said as a door on the left opened. “Everyone should move through now. I can’t guarantee it won’t lock again when it closes.” The team moved through the door, which sealed tight behind them. The team fought their way up through the corridors, reaching the second floor of the hangar. The old-model Shade was now occupied by an Elite, who was promptly sniped by the Chief, and the squad hurried across the room, gunning down a surprised pack of Jackals inside their next door. Up another level, and they reached the top floor of the hangar. They crossed again, Teana gunning down a trio of suicide Grunts near their exit, and then fought off a small attack wave from behind them, killing an Elite Major. They went through their next door, passing through another few hallways and soon reaching the Bridge. Orna Fulsamee, Ship-Master of the Truth and Reconciliation, stood in the center of the command podium, looking at the holo-screens displaying the devastation. He snarled in disgust. Unlike the vast majority of his people, he was one of the very few Sangheili who still saw the humans for the disgusting, worthless insects that they were, rather than the noble, capable, worthy opponents that almost all the other Sangheili saw them as. He had worked long and hard to put together a command crew of like-minded Sangheili, and it had taken him the better part of a year to find even three such individuals of proper rank, but now here he stood with them at his side, waiting for the vermin to dare and try to rescue their ship-master, the heretic who dared defile the Sacred Ring with his humans’ blasphemous presence. His mood was slightly soured by the knowledge that Thel Vadamee, another human-respecter, was the Fleet-Master in command of the battle-group currently stationed near the Sacred Ring and had been in command of the armada sent to burn the vermin’s wretched planet “Reech”, but the possibility of slaughtering two of the Demons lifted his spirits a little. He barely heard the door behind him and to his left slide open, but was broken from his reverie by a human grenade going off, scattering luminescent blue Unggoy blood across the control room’s floor. The deep bass cracks of human weapons filled his ears, and he spun about to see the two Demons leading a squad of the humans’ special-ops shock troopers. He made the Sangheili equivalent of an evil smirk, ignited his plasma sword, and leapt into the fray. The nearest Elite Ultra was quickly taken down by massed fire, and the far one was dealt with by two shots from the Chief’s sniper rifle. Suddenly, a gold-armored Elite, plasma sword blazing, ran toward them. Teana switched Cross Mirage to Longsword Mode and charged to meet him, blades locking, and an epic swordfight ensued. Another squad of Grunts led by a red-armored Elite entered through the far door, and the ODSTs and the Master Chief rose to the challenge. After dealing with these intruders and a pack of Jackals from another door, they turned to watch the spectacle as the two combatants behind them fought with a speed and skill rarely seen. Fulsamee was furious. The small Demon not only dared to learn the art of proper swordsmanship – something only the glorious Sangheili deserved to know – but she was matching him blow for blow, using her smaller size and greater speed to her advantage while still possessing the strength to successfully block and parry his blows. Some part of his mind recognized a natural when he saw one, but his lifelong religious indoctrination prevented him from accepting the skill that matched his. His increasing anger began to almost-imperceptibly-slowly affect his sword skills in a negative manner, and his multiple aggressive attempts to batter her into submission were gradually draining his energy. Teana scored a lucky strike, shearing through his shields and hitting the shield generator, leaving him with only his armor and blade to protect him. He pressed forward in a rage, and Teana saw a split-second opening. She took it, spearing Cross Mirage’s blade through the center of his torso. The Elite looked at her in horrified shock, refusing to accept that a human had just bested him. Any further thoughts were cut short as she cleaved upward and to the right, slicing up through his torso with the blade exiting at the edge of his neck. He fell to the floor, and the last thing he saw was Teana’s downward stab toward his head. Teana deactivated her energy sword, panting for breath, and her attention was grabbed by the sound of applause. She looked right, and saw the ODSTs clapping, a few saying words of congratulations. She blushed lightly and waved back. “In all my 18 years of service,” the Sergeant said, “that was undoubtedly one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen.” “Man, my eyes could barely keep up with either of you” a younger member of the squad said. John silently nodded his head in agreement; Teana may not have been the strongest, smartest, fastest, or toughest of the Spartans, nor was she the best in tracking, marksmanship, or the like, but there was no doubt that none of the others could handle a sword like she could. She walked over to the group, switching Cross Mirage back to Rifle Mode. “The Captain’s transponder signal is strong” Cortana suddenly said. “He must be getting close.” The ODSTs walked over to the command podium, setting up shop. “This looks like a good spot, Spartans” the Sergeant said. “We’ll mind the store here until you two get back with the Captain. Good luck.” The two Spartans moved through the door on the far left, hanging a left and following a corridor. At a zig-zag part up ahead, a pack of five Grunts were caught off-guard and gunned down by assault rifle fire. A few more corners and a few more Grunts (and some Jackals), and they reached a brig. Unfortunately, it was empty. So they moved on, soon coming out at one end of a long corridor. At the other end, two Jackals were walking toward each other. The Master Chief got down to one knee, peered through the sniper rifle’s scope, and waited. When they were lined up, he fired, and the bullet tore through one Jackal’s upper back and the other’s neck, taking them both down. They moved down the hall, turning right into another brig. Five holding cells were active, and a trio of Elites – a General and two Spec-Ops – stood guard. The two black-armored Elites faded from view as their active camouflage kicked in, and the red-and-gold-armored Elite General hefted a plasma launcher, firing three shots at the Spartans. John & Teana rolled to either side, turning their assault rifles on the approaching stealth Elites. They fired at the shimmers of air, and the two Elites soon fell. Another two plasma launcher shots were dodged, and the Chief shouldered his sniper rifle. Three shots took down the Elite’s shields, and a fourth blew its skull out. “That was awesome, sir!” a prisoner shouted. “Stow it, Corporal” came the voice of Captain Keyes from the far left cell. “Chief, Noble-7, open these cells, and let’s get the hell out of here. The power control’s along the back wall.” John walked up to a holo-panel and hit the central icon, then strolled over to the Captain's cell as its containment field lowered. He held out a hand to the Captain, helping him to his feet. “Coming here was reckless” Keyes said. “You three know better than this. …Thanks.” The group gathered in the center of the room, the other prisoners scavenging weapons from the fallen Covenant. “While the Covenant had us locked up in here,” Keyes continued, “I overheard the guards talking about this ringworld. They call it Halo.” “One moment, sir” Cortana said over the Chief’s armor’s external speakers. “Accessing the Covenant battle-net.” A pause. “According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm reading this correctly – and with the Covenant language, I can’t be 100% sure, but I’m pretty confident – they believe that Halo is some sort of weapon, one with vast, unimaginable power.” “And if it’s true…” Keyes mused. “The Elites kept saying that ‘whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the galaxy’.” “Now I see…” Cortana continued. “I have intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a ‘control room’. I thought they were looking for the ejected bridge of a cruiser I damaged during a battle above the ring, but they must actually be looking for Halo’s control room.” “That’s bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and if the Covenant gain control of it, they’ll definitely use it against us, and tip the odds even further in their favor against the UNSC. Chief, Cortana, Warrant Officer, I have a new mission for you: we need to beat the Covenant to Halo’s control room.” “Sir,” Teana responded, “it might be wise to finish this mission before planning our next one.” “Fair enough” Keyes said. He bent down and picked up a needler. “Chief, you have point.” Shut Up And Get Behind Me… Sir Teana grabbed the plasma launcher, which still had 55% charge left, letting it attach to her back thanks to her suit’s selective magnetic system, and formed up with the group. The doors to the brig opened, and two black-armored Elites charged in. The humans took them down before they could even engage their active camouflage, and the filed out the door. “How do we find our way out?” a marine asked. “Follow the bodies” the Master Chief responded. Indeed, this was exactly what they ended up doing. They encountered surprisingly light resistance, which quickly crumpled under their rolling assault. Eventually they reached the bridge. When the door slid open, John spotted the ever-so-slight shimmers of air; two cloaked Elites were trying to sneak up on the semi-relaxed ODST team on the command podium. He fired his sniper rifle at the farthest one, and it keeled over. This caught the troopers’ attention, and they saw the alien’s body appear from thin air and fall to the ground. The other Elite charged them, hoping to score at least one kill, but its shields failed to withstand the assault that the troopers poured into it, and it collapsed dead less than two feet from the central podium. The Spartans and the Captain walked in, the three marines and two naval crewmen following them, and the ODSTs saluted their CO. “Cortana to Echo-419. We have the Captain and need extraction on the double.” “Negative, Cortana. I’ve been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I’m havin’ a tough time shakin’ ‘em. You’ll be better off findin’ your own ride… sorry.” “Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in.” “Aw, shit!” a crewman began to panic. “We’re trapped on this thing! We’re fucked, man!” “Quit yer bitching, man” an ODST snapped. “We ain’t dead yet!” “Cortana,” Keyes said, “if we can get into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us out of here.” “Yes, Captain. There’s a Spirit still docked.” “Then let’s move.” They made their way through a few corridors, finding their way back to the third floor of the hangar. They fought across the walkway, the Chief thinning the approaching ranks with his sniper rifle, and entering another corridor to take them down to the second floor. On the way, a red-armored Elite met a grisly end as Keyes stuck eight needler rounds in its torso, and the resulting super-combine explosion tore its chest open. They soon reached the second floor, and Teana fired two plasma launcher blasts at an unsuspecting Elite Ultra, killing it; also, a wave of Grunts charged in, and was quickly cut down. The Master Chief hit a button on a nearby display, and the Spirit bobbed free, the door opening and lowering for the humans to board. The group piled in, Keyes making his way to the cockpit. “Give me a minute to interface with the ship’s controls” Cortana said. “No need” Keyes replied. “I’ll take this overgrown tuning fork out myself.” Suddenly, a Hunter pair emerged from a door on the third floor, taking position and preparing to open fire. “Time for a little payback” Keyes muttered, as he flew the Spirit forward. The Hunters were tough, but there was no hope of surviving a 245-ton dropship smashing its prong-tips into them at 70 miles per hour. Their way clear, the captured Spirit flew out of the hangar and soared off into the night.

2011-02-21, 19:30

Link #29374

itanshi1

Writer, Jester, MtG nerd

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: Nanoha Used Car Dealership. RERISE!

Spoiler for snip:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaijo

Upon looking over it again, I do realize it was mostly battle. While I was trying to finish up the fights, I do like a more balanced chapter that mixes dialogue and action. So I'm currently debating exactly how to change things, with the most prominent thought being moving a couple of the battle scenes to the next chapter, and [possibly adding a dialogue scene. I'm not entirely happy with it being so long, too.

So holding off posting it to ff.net for now. I'm halfway done with 34, so when I'm mostly done with it and have a better handle on what I can include, I'll edit chapter 33. In the meantime, your more mundane, yet no less important, corrections are helpful as always.^^

I can make some edits to clarify. I felt the combination of factors would have made calculating for a teleport extremely difficult, since Vivio was bringing the full brunt of her power to bear, and there would still have been inertia to contend with. But I'll add this to the list of things to revise, heh.

I suppose I didn't mention that her initial barrier didn't require a chant, much the same way most shields and barriers didn't. From there, she was able to get up the second. Also, Hayate HAX. Given the way the chapter was growing, I suppose I felt I might have gone through it a bit too quickly. Depending on how I edit the chapter, I'll see about revising this, too.

Interesting questions; hopefully, you'll get some answers next chapter.^^ I have a timeline I plan to publish once the fic is done, but suffice it to say, Yuuno's obsession to bring Nanoha back happened after he had married Fate. There was a scene back in chapter 15, where Yuuno recounts seeing an almost ghostly version of a short-haired Nanoha, that plays into this.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have a better idea of where I stand with edits and such by the end of the day, and can post a revised chapter 33. Depending on the degree of edits, I'll either make another post here, or just post to ff.net.

Thanks again for the commentary.^^

Eh? Teleporting during inertia? Ever play Portal? You make your self face a different direction and inertia takes you not down preferably, well gravity will correct, but it will slow the descent

__________________

For those that belittle their favorite characters, complain about pairings, complain about oversexed images. Stop, thank you.

Fear Anxiety Doubt is but a fad. The life of a fad depends entirely on the willingness to support it. Difficulty is a choice. Determination is a path. Your next great idea after your destination is the true goal.

2011-02-21, 20:53

Link #29375

Kaijo

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.

Quote:

Originally Posted by itanshi1

Eh? Teleporting during inertia? Ever play Portal? You make your self face a different direction and inertia takes you not down preferably, well gravity will correct, but it will slow the descent

You make an interesting point, damn you. I'll have to get a bit creative, then...

2011-02-21, 21:00	Link #29376
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for B. 1 Ch. 15 - The Silent Cartographer: BOOK 1 CHAPTER 15 - THE SILENT CATROGRAPHER Halo Installation 04 Cartographer Island September 20th, 2552 1350 hours The two Pelican dropships flew in toward the island, Bravo-022 leisurely swinging back and forth through the air as it followed Echo-419. John sat in the forward craft, while Teana gazed out at the ocean from the following ship’s open rear door. “The Covenant believe” Cortana briefed “that what they call ‘the Silent Cartographer’ is somewhere under this island. The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo’s control center. The island has multiples structures and installations; one of them contains the map room.” “We’re approaching the LZ” Foehammer said. “It’s gonna be hot!” The craft ‘spun’, its rear facing the surprised Covenant, and hovered six inches above the sand. “Touchdown! Hit it, marines!” As Echo-419’s troops disembarked and opened fire, Bravo-022 spotted an Elite and small force of Skirmishers trading fire with Echo's troops, nailing one marine through the head. Bravo’s response was to move a bit further in and then land on top of the Elite and Skirmishers, and Teana led the craft’s troops out into the beach, gunning down Grunts. The two dropships flew off, Bravo briefly skimming its bottom along the water to wash off sand and blood, and then rising up into the air and following Echo. The force of two Spartans and 11 marines continued up the beach, encountering a trio of Jackals and two Elites, one blue and one red. A frag grenade from the Chief killed the Jackals, and massed fire from Teana and the marines took down the red-armored Elite. The Master Chief used his assault rifle to take down the blue-armored Elite. Even faster than they’d hoped for, the beach was already secure. “Cortana to Echo-419: LZ is clear, Foehammer.” “Affirmative. Echo-419 inbound. Somebody order a Warthog?” “Hey, I didn’t know you made house calls, Foehammer” a Sergeant joked. “You know our motto: We Deliver.” The dropship swooped in, stopping to hover dozen meters over the beach, and release the Warthog, which bounced when it landed. The Chief got in the driver’s seat, while Teana manned the gun and a marine rode shotgun. The vehicle started up and drove forward, hanging a left around a rock wall and reaching another section of the island. Up ahead, milling about on the slope of a ramp/hill, was a pack of Grunts. The M41 chaingun roared, and soon the ramp/hill was covered by Grunt giblets. The Warthog drove up the slope, reaching another area. To the left was a local structure, with a force of Jackals mulling near the entrance. A Phantom flew away from the structure, and a clutch of Grunts waddled from it into the building. “They’re already inside!” Cortana said. “We need to get in there quick, before they discover the location of Halo’s control center!” The Warthog drove onto metal, the chaingun ripping through the Jackals standing guard, and the Chief parked the vehicle in front of the entrance in a way that Teana would have a clear shot inside. He hopped out and went low, letting the smaller Spartan and her chaingun do the heavy lifting. Blue blood quickly covered the floor, and an Elite farther down was stunned by some shots from John’s pistol, leaving it unable to escape the big gun’s fire. The Chief ran further in, encountering two more red-armored Elites behind a wall, out of the gun’s field of fire. He stuck one with a plasma grenade, and entered a full-auto assault rifle vs. plasma rifle gun duel, which he won just as his shields collapsed. “The Covenant are putting up a real fight” Cortana said. “The Cartographer must be here. My analysis indicates that the map room should be at the bottom of this facility. Let’s keep going inside.” The Chief walked down a narrow ramp, finding a small room populated by Grunts, and on the other side of an open door stood a gold-armored Elite Zealot. He tossed a frag grenade, killing the Grunts, and ran for the door. Too late; the door snapped shut, and the Elite looked at him through the small transparent part of the door, giving the Sangheili equivalent of a mean-spirited grin… or perhaps the Sangheili equivalent of sticking his tongue out at the Chief and going “nyah-nyah”. The Chief glared at him, but he kept his visor polarized so the Elite wouldn’t have the pleasure of knowing it had irked him. “Interesting…” Cortana said. “I underestimated the Covenant’s understanding of Halo’s subsystems. We don’t have the firepower to get through this locked door. Cortana to Keyes.” “Go ahead, Cortana” the Captain’s voice came over the comm. “Have you found the control center?” “Negative, Captain. The Covenant have impeded our progress. We can’t proceed unless we can disable this island’s security system.” “Understood. We’re still en route to our objective, and I may be out of contact when we get there. I want you to use any means necessary to force your way into the facility and find Halo’s control center. We have to get to the center before the Covenant, and failure, people, is not an option.” “Echo-419 to ground teams” Foehammer’s voice cut in. “I’ll stay on station and keep an eye out for Covvie bogeys.” “Second Squad ready to roll!” a marine sergeant said. “As soon as everybody’s topside!” “Good luck, people. Keyes out.” “We’ll need to find a security override” Cortana said. The Chief turned and walked away, heading up the ramp (the Elite was mildly disappointed that the human hadn’t shown any reaction to this little obstacle, having expected some show of anger). He headed up the ramps and back out to the Warthog, and explained the situation. “Maybe there’s a path to the island’s interior somewhere” Teana suggested. “I saw something that looked like just that when we were flying in” Cortana replied. “Let’s try it.” The Warthog made a u-turn and reached a slope, following it down to the lower area of the island, and drove on. It soon reached another area, where they indeed found a slope, with several trees, that looked like it led up into the center area of the island. A few Grunts mulled about, and were cut down by the Warthog’s gun before they could return fire. The trio disembarked, the marine following the Spartans up the slope, DMR ready. They ran into a few Jackals, quickly disposed of, and soon reached an area containing a massive circular metal thing with a small tower in the center. A pair of Hunters stood guard; they had not yet noticed the three humans. Chief threw a plasma grenade at the nearest one, sticking it on the back of the ‘head’. The grenade went off, and the Lekgolo colony barely maintained cohesion. The wounded beast slowly turned to fire, while its uninjured ‘brother’ reacted much quicker, aiming its gun and firing an explosive bolt. The shot missed, hitting a young tree which then toppled. Teana charged in, Cross Mirage in dual pistol mode, and ran for the far Hunter. The Chief backed her up, tossing a frag grenade ahead of her to stun the beast. The wounded Hunter turned to face the small Spartan as it passed her, inadvertently exposing its vulnerable back to the marine. He fired several shots from his DMR, which was enough to finish off the injured Hunter, and it toppled. The other Hunter roared in response, firing its weapon in beam configuration. It briefly grazed Teana’s shields, enough to drain them down to 10%, the shrill alarm beeping in her ears. She ran behind it, opening fire on its back with both pistols. John took potshots with his assault rifle, trying to aim around the shield and hit the Hunter's ‘face’ and/or ‘stomach’. After about a minute of dodging and shooting, they eventually whittled down the creature’s health, and it finally keeled over. The marine ran up to join them. The next area contained a blue-armored Elite, three Jackals, and six Grunts. DMR shots from the marine took out four of the Grunts, while Teana switched Mirage to Rifle Mode and fired at the Elite, and the Master Chief threw a grenade at two of the Jackals, killing them. The Elite went down, and a rifle grenade killed two more Grunts. The Jackal tried to flee, but a pistol shot from the Chief took it down. The trio moved on, reaching another structure guarded by five Grunts. The Chief used his assault rifle to kill them, and they moved in. They came to a room dominated by Covenant storage crates, and from the other end came another pair of Hunters. The marine ducked behind a crate, as the Spartans moved in, trying to flank the huge pair. Each Spartan picked a Hunter and dove behind it, opening fire on full auto, causing orange blood to stain the floor. The Hunters roared and spun, firing green beams, and the Spartans dodged, firing at the aliens’ ‘faces’ and causing them to duck behind their shields. John & Teana quickly dashed around them, continuing to fire at their unprotected backs, and the Hunters continued to take damage. Soon, one fell as the two Spartans combined fire, and the other roared and turned to face them. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and the marine’s DMR took down the heavily injured Hunter. He came out of cover and ran to join the Spartans. They moved further into the facility, finding a terminal beneath a bizarre hologram. Teana moved in and hit the central holo-button. The hologram flashed in a few spots in response. “Good” Cortana said. “That should open the door that leads into the main shaft.” It's Quiet… As the trio turned and headed for the exit, a panicked voice came over the radio. “Mayday, mayday! Bravo-22 taking heavy fire! Repeat! We are under heavy fire and are losing altitude!” They rushed forward, reaching the storage room, and the marine took a plasma bolt between the eyes from out of nowhere, collapsing in a heap. John & Teana activated their VISRs and opened fire on the cloaked Elites, who were too caught off-guard from being spotted to react in time, and were killed. The Spartans ran outside, reaching the cliff edge and looking down. Below, next to a rock formation, lay the smoking wreck of Bravo-22. Human bodies were strewn about near it, and a trio of Jackals meandered about. “Bravo-22 was bringing us some heavy weapons” Cortana said. “After I saw we were up against Hunters, I felt we could use them. Let’s move down the beach; keep an eye out for any cargo we can salvage.” The two backtracked, soon reaching the circular central area to find it occupied by four Skirmishers. Two went down quickly with headshots, but the other two began to run about, deliberately making it hard to hit them. Teana managed to hit one in the leg, and it face-planted, leaving it vulnerable to a killing shot. John fired his assault rifle into the path of the other, and it promptly ran into the bullets’ path, taking fatal hits and collapsing. They moved on, the Chief stocking up on ammo at a marine’s fallen corpse, and reached the Warthog. They drove on, reaching the Pelican’s crash site, and Teana used the chaingun to mow down the Jackals. They hopped out to inspect the wreckage, finding a rocket launcher and two extra pairs of rockets. Teana grabbed said weapon & ammo, and then the pair hopped back in the Warthog. They drove to and through the initial LZ, passing the marines, and made their way back to the main entrance to the underground facility. This time, they found a pair of Hunters guarding the entrance. They disembarked, sneaking their way up. One of the Hunters, the one closest to them, had its back turned to them. Teana punished it for its lack of proper security protocol by firing two rockets at it. Both explosives hit its vulnerable back, killing it. The other roared and fired an explosive bolt. The shot missed, smashing into the boulder the Spartans hid behind, and John leapt out and rushed forward as Teana reloaded the launcher. He reached the Hunter, ducking under a shield strike and planting a grenade at the alien’s feet. The explosive wounded the beast, and it swung again, and then tried a point-blank cannon shot. The Chief ducked, the green bolt screaming over his head, the radiant heat draining his shields by one-third. Teana rushed in, firing Mirage Rifle at the creature’s back, and then firing a 40mm grenade at it. The projectile detonated on contact, injuring the Hunter further. John pulled a bullfight maneuver, getting behind the Hunter, and fired his HE pistol. Five exploding .45-caliber shots finished it off. They moved into the structure, soon reaching the now-open door. They passed right, reaching a small platform overlooking a deep, dark pit. The Chief kicked a rock down, and waited several seconds; the rock could not be heard hitting the bottom. Shafted They moved in, finding a red-armored Elite standing at a Covenant computer. The Chief silently crept up and snapped its neck, and dragged the body into a shadowed corner. He and Teana then walked up the ramp, taking cover in a small spot that just barely hid them from view of the patrolling Grunts. Teana summoned a silencer on her rifle’s tip. A Grunt slowly walked over and came into view, and the Chief immediately yanked it close and snapped its neck, letting it drop to the floor behind him. He did the same for another Grunt, and then the two Spartans crouch-walked across the walkway and took cover behind a metal support beam. Another Grunt met its silent end, being placed in the nearby corner, and the two looked down to see who was left: a blue-armored Elite and two Grunts. The Chief leapt, landing atop the Elite’s back and driving his knife into its skull. As the Grunts turned around, two fwip sounds came as Teana took them down. She leapt down, joining the Chief, and they headed for the next small door. They ducked into cover as it opened, and a Jackal strolled out. It spotted the bodies and was about to call out when Teana grabbed its neck and twisted, and the body fell to the floor. She then dashed through the door into the room containing a walkway winding down the outside edge of the room, finding another Jackal. She reached out, crushed its throat so it couldn’t scream, and threw it down the shaft. She and the Chief moved down, reaching the next level. The area looked clear, but in a nearby area overlooking the chasm lay three marines, all dead. The pair walked over, and the Chief picked up a fully-loaded shotgun and 12 extra shells. They headed into the main area of the room, and ran into a Hunter pair, who spotted them. So much for stealth. The Chief ran in, dodging an explosive bolt and rolling behind the first Hunter. He pointed his shotgun and fired, tearing into the alien’s vulnerable lower back. Three up-close shells, and the beast collapsed. The other roared and fired, and Teana dashed in, activating her rifle’s energy bayonet. She ducked beneath a shield swipe, and sliced at the Hunter’s stomach, the superheated blade searing ‘flesh’ and causing the creature to groan. John rushed in, unloading two more shotgun blasts at its ‘face’. Teana jammed the bayonet hilt-deep into the Hunter’s back and then slashed to the side, nearly cutting the alien in half. It stumbled to its knees, struggling to hold itself together. John put the shotgun barrel to the alien’s ‘face’ and pulled the trigger. He stepped around the corpse as it fell, reloading his shotgun, and the two moved down another level. When they reached the next level, Foehammer’s voice came over the comm. “Foehammer to ground teams: you’ve got enemy dropships coming in fast!” “Damnit!” the beach Sergeant cursed. “Okay, people, we got company comin’. Let’s set the table; engage enemy forces on sight!” “It’ll be easier to hold them off from inside the structure” Cortana radioed. “Can you get inside?” “Negative; they’re closin’ in too fast! Chief, you gotta find the Cartographer! We’ll keep ‘em busy as long as we can!” “Give ‘em hell, marine” Cortana said solemnly, and the comm. cut out. “We’ll be in a tight spot if we don’t get out of here before additional enemy reinforcements arrive. Let’s find that map ASAP.” They reached a two-leveled room, finding a trio of Skirmishers that fell quickly. They hopped down to the lower level, entering another square-shaped room with a downward-going ramp. At the next level, they found two patrolling Grunts – easily dealt with – and a number of sleeping ones, whose sleep was quickly made permanent. They followed a walkway bordering a near-bottomless drop, and soon entered the Cartographer. Two red-armored Elites stood guard, and the Chief quickly rushed in and took them both down with his shotgun. The pair walked up to a hologram of the ringworld, and the Chief hit the button. The hologram spun once, and then broke into sections, each one with a line of text pointing to it. “Analyzing…” Cortana scanned the hologram, finding the similarities of the text to Covenant written language and guessing based on that. “Halo’s control center is… here” their HUDs highlighted a certain spot on the map. “That structure appears to be some sort of temple or shrine if I’ve interpreted this correctly. …Interesting. A shrine is an unlikely place to put such a significant installation”. She then triggered the comm. “Cortana to Captain Keyes.” “The Captain has dropped out of contact, Cortana” Foehammer’s voice replied. “His ship may be out of range, or having equipment problems.” “Keep trying. Let me know when you’ve reestablished contact, and then tell him that the Master Chief, Noble-7, and I have determined the location of the control center. We’ll be heading there as soon as we’re topside.” “Affirmative. Foehammer out.” The two Spartans started making their way back up toward the surface. When they reached Level 3, however, they found a blue-armored Elite and a half-dozen Grunts. The Master Chief fired his assault rifle at the Elite, while Teana dealt with the Grunts. When the way was clear, they continued upward, sending a pair of Jackals plummeting to their deaths in the ramp room. On level two, they found a red-armored Elite and some Jackals. A shotgun blast took care of the former, and a couple of 40mm grenades took out the latter. At the upper room, a white-armored Elite Ultra and two forearm-shield-equipped Skirmishers opened fire. Teana’s shields deflected the Skirmishers’ carbine shots, and she dived out of the way of the Elite’s concussion rifle. She fired on full-auto at the nearest Skirmisher, taking it down, and John used his pistol to kill the other one, and then ran in and fired his shotgun at the Elite. Three shots took down its shields, and a fourth killed it. Just then, the gold-armored Elite Zealot from earlier rushed in. Teana readied the rocket launcher and fired. The first rocket blew through its shields and knocked it backward; the second blew it to bits. The two Spartans moved on, walking up two final ramps and reaching the entrance hall. A trio of cloaked Elites opened fire with plasma repeaters. A rocket killed one, a shotgun blast killed another, and the last was bayoneted through the chest. Finally, the duo reached daylight. “Cortana to Echo-419. We’re topside; requesting pickup.” “Roger. On my way.” Several seconds later, the Pelican swooped in, stopping to allow the Spartans to climb aboard. “Let’s get moving, Foehammer” Cortana said. “Here are coordinates and a flight plan I’ve worked out.” As the bird lifted off… “…Uh, Cortana? These coordinates are underground.” “The Covenant did a thorough seismic scan. My analysis of the data shows that Halo is honeycombed with deep tunnels that circle the whole ring.” The Pelican hovered over the center of the island, and the circular area slid open, revealing a large tunnel. “I hope your analysis is on-the-money, Cortana. This Pelican won’t turn on a dime.” The dropship lowered into the tunnel, and the hatch slowly began to close above them. “Look on the bright side, Foehammer: the last thing the Covenant will expect is an aerial insertion from underground.” The hatch slid shut, plunging the tunnel into darkness. Spoiler for Ch. 16 - Assault on the Control Room: CHAPTER 16 - ASSAULT ON THE CONTROL ROOM Halo Installation 04 Subterranean network underneath the Tundra Zone September 20th, 2552 17:40 hours I Would Have Been Your Daddy… Ubdup the Unggoy liked this job. No being pushed around by those high-and-mighty Kig-Yar. No being sent to die against the humans as an ammunition sponge. Just a nice, quiet, sleepy little guard post in a subterranean area of Halo, with no humans. This was the life. This train of thought lasted until he heard a sudden noise from below. He turned to look at the deep chasm that made up part of Halo’s internal workings, and from it rose a human dropship, less than 20 feet away and ‘looking’ right at him. The pilot waved. He screamed and ran as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, the other Grunts waking up and following suit. “This is as far as I can go” Foehammer said. “Roger that” Cortana replied. “We can find our way to the control center from here.” “Good luck.” The Pelican swung around and opened its back door, depositing John & Teana. The latter had left the one-rocket-left launcher in the dropship, but the former still had his shotgun and 6 extra shells. The Chief quickly ran for a nearby newer-model Shade, turning it to face the door just as a blue-armored Elite ran out. He opened fire with the heavy turret’s plasma cannons, quickly cutting the alien down. Teana fired a rifle grenade through the still-open door at the Grunts just inside, killing all four (poor Ubdup…). The Chief got out of the turret, and the two Spartans moved through the door and down a tall hallway. They entered a circular room, and came out behind a patrolling Elite Minor. A blow to the back of the head took it out. They moved on counterclockwise, and their cover was blown when a pair of Jackals spotted them and opened fire. A pack of Grunts came out from the central area of the room, adding their fire to the attack. The two Spartans opened fire with their rifles on full auto, mowing down the hostiles. One tried to leap onto John’s back from behind, but he grabbed it and threw it over his shoulder into the wall, killing it. The room was clear. “The Covenant are putting up quite a fight” Cortana said. “The Cartographer must be here.” The pair moved on, passing through another hallway, and came out onto a bridge. One thing caught their attention quickly: it was snowing. “Interesting” Cortana muttered. “The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial. I wonder if the ring’s environment systems are malfunctioning… or if the designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather.” John & Teana moved quietly onto the bridge, assassinating a few sleeping Grunts. All pretext of stealth, however, vanished when a Pelican flew overhead, less than 50 meters above the bridge. “This is Fireteam Zulu,” a voice came over the radio, “requesting immediate assistance from any UNSC forces. Does anyone copy, over?” “I didn’t think there were any human forces left on this part of the ring” Cortana said. “Fireteam Zulu, this is UNSC AI Cortana. Spartans 117 and D001 are with me. Hang tight; we’re on our way.” “Roger that. Make it quick.” The two Spartans started making their way across the bridge, gunning down Grunts and an Elite Minor, some of whom emerged from the bridge’s lower levels. At the other side were two Shade turrets; a pair of rifle grenades from Teana took care of their operators. From behind the metal structure blocking view of the door came an Elite General, carrying a fuel rod gun. He opened fire, and they rolled out of the way, a near-miss causing John’s shields to flare. He rushed in, dodging another shot, and fired his shotgun. Three shots took the Elite’s shields down, and a fourth blew its head off. The fuel rod gun turned out to be an older model with a dead-man’s switch, and John quickly hurled it over the edge of the bridge; it exploded a second and a half later. They moved through another hallway, reaching another circular room, and went left. A few Grunts went down easy enough, but the cloaked Elite with dual plasma rifles was a bit more of a challenge. Nonetheless, a rifle grenade to the face stunned it and weakened its shields, and a shotgun blast finished it off, taking John down to seven shells including the five currently in his M90. They moved forward, finding a pair of dead UNSC marines and stocking up on frag grenades, and John also scavenged ammo for his pistol and his assault rifle. They reached a small, narrow corridor and followed it to an elevator. At the bottom of the elevator ride, they exited and found another circular area, populated by sleeping Grunts. They quickly and silently made their way through, assassinating sleeping Grunts and an unwary Elite as they went, and finally reached a hallway that led outside. The marines were across the current plain of snow, near an overturned Warthog. Nearby to the left, a Shade fired on them, as did another farther off to the right atop a boulder. Farther right, a Wraith lobbed a plasma mortar at the marines; it missed and partially vaporized a tree. The Chief used his pistol to kill the nearby Shade’s gunner, and hopped in, opening fire on the other heavy turret and killing its operator. He dismounted, and he & Teana ran toward the marines. Seconds later, the turret they’d just vacated was obliterated by the Wraith. A Ghost rode in and started shooting at the Spartans. Teana threw a plasma grenade; it stuck to the craft’s front cowling, and the rider bailed just before the grenade went off, destroying the vehicle. The red-armored Elite roared and opened fire with his needler; the Spartans dodged and returned fire with their full-auto rifles, the combined assault quickly bringing the alien down. The Spartans ran over to the marines, dispatching a Skirmisher on the way, and John went over to the Warthog and flipped it over onto its tires. He got in the driver’s seat, Teana rode shotgun, and a marine manned the chaingun. The Warthog drove out, approaching and flanking the Wraith; the marine manning the big gun opened fire, as Teana took out a pair of Jackals. The Hog circled around the Wraith, getting behind it, and the chaingun fired at the vulnerable rear section. It hit something vital, and the hover-tank exploded. The Chief waited for the other two members of the marine team to catch up, only to see that they’d lo-jacked a pair of Ghosts. The three vehicles pressed on, road-killing another pair of Jackals and jumping a six-foot drop onto another section. They turned right, finding another five marines guarding a Scorpion tank were under attack from a pair of Ghosts and a pack of Grunts. As soon as they got close, Teana jumped from the Warthog and ran to the tank, climbing into the driver’s seat and starting it up. She turned the barrel and fired, blowing a Ghost into scrap metal. Another boom, and the second Ghost tumbled end over end in pieces. A marine from the squad got in the Scorpion’s machinegun turret and used it to cut down the Grunts. “That’s the last of ‘em” said the team Sergeant. “Area secure. Stand down, team! They did their damnedest, that’s for sure. This is all that’s left of my platoon! The Covenant are down here in force... and they brought plenty of toys! I wouldn’t have given us a snowball’s chance until you two showed up.” “Now how’s about we all get the hell out of here?” a marine shouted. “You stow that garbage right now, mister. You’re a Marine, so act like it, damnit! We’ve got a job to do here.” “No evac is available at this time, Zulu” Cortana said. “Okay, Marines; time to pay back the Spartans for pulling your sorry tails out of the fire. Prepare to move out!” The remaining four marines climbed aboard the Scorpion’s treads, taking position; the Chief, meanwhile, drover over to the crashed Pelican. He hopped out and grabbed a few more clips for his assault rifle, along with a sniper rifle and four clips for it. Teana drove the tank over, and she opened the hatch as the Chief handed her the sniper rifle and ammo. She nodded in thanks and closed the hatch, as the Chief got back in the Warthog’s driver seat. Another Ghost came in through the tunnel ahead, and was ganged up on by the two marine-driven Ghosts, its Grunt pilot quickly taken out. The Warthog took the lead into the tunnel, using its turret to kill a trio of Grunts and a blue-armored Elite. The Scorpion followed it, and the two Ghosts brought up the rear. In the canyon on the other side of the short tunnel, a Ghost ran up, opening fire on the Warthog. The Scorpion’s cannon blew it apart, and fired again to destroy a Shade atop a nearby snow-covered rock formation. A marine-controlled Ghost raced ahead, around the boulder, and was promptly obliterated by a plasma mortar fired by the Wraith on the other side of the rocks. The Chief drove his Warthog out, catching the Wraith’s attention, and dodged another shot. Teana maneuvered the Scorpion around the other side of the rock, and blasted the Covenant tank in the ass, causing it to explode violently. She turned the cannon right, sighting and destroying another Shade near the tunnel entrance, and the machinegun turret tore through an Elite and a Jackal coming up on the left of the tank. The Scorpion then rolled down into the tunnel, firing two shots to kill a Hunter pair at the bottom of the slope. The Chief’s Warthog rolled up next to them, and he hopped out to hit the door controls. The door slid open, and the three vehicles rolled (or hovered, in the case of the Ghost) through. They soon reached a large chamber with two bridges spanning a deep chasm; one of the bridges was gone, having been blown up by something at some point. “More Covenant!” a marine called out. “Man, these guys are like cockroaches…” A tank shot blew two Elite Majors to bits, and the Scorpion then drove out into the chamber, firing right and then left to destroy a pair of new-model Shades. John’s Warthog went ahead, turning left and heading for the intact bridge, while the Ghost stayed by the Scorpion’s side as extra anti-infantry escort. The Warthog drove onto the bridge, flattening a Jackal, and the gunner opened fire on the Shade turret ahead and to the left. The Scorpion and the Ghost drove up behind it, and the tank fired a shot at a Hunter across the bridge, blowing its top half away. Another shot hit the ground directly behind the other Hunter, hurling it forward through the air and over the edge of the chasm. The Ghost boosted ahead, firing its twin plasma cannons at an Elite and taking it down, and then ram-killing another. With the room clear, they advanced through the next door, following the large hallway, killing another Elite and two Grunts, and reaching a rock-covered slope that led up and out of the tunnel. Rolling Thunder The rocky slope was populated by Jackals and Skirmishers, who quickly fell to the Warthog’s chaingun. When they neared the top, a Spirit flew in, dropping off two blue-armored Elites, a pack of Grunts, and a Ghost that was quickly destroyed by the Scorpion’s cannon. The marine-driven Ghost boosted out into the open, firing on the Grunts, while the Warthog’s gunner opened up on one of the Elites, killing it. The other Elite was gunned down by the Scorpion’s machinegun turret. The convoy went right, the tank firing a shot to destroy an old-model Shade turret atop a boulder, and the Warthog was in the perfect spot to open fire with its main gun as the door on the left opened to reveal an Elite and a group of Grunts, shredding them as they were trapped in the narrow space. They pressed on, a trio of tank shots demolishing the Wraith sitting on the frozen lake ahead. A Ghost came in from the left, and its Elite pilot was killed by the Warthog’s chaingun. On the other side of the icy lake, a Hunter pair emerged from the path that the human force needed to take. The Scorpion’s main cannon took care of them quickly, and the trio of vehicles moved on, reaching another area. Here, a natural (maybe) ramp led down to a frozen river, and at the bottom another group of marines were clustered around a destroyed Warthog. Teana fired the tank’s gun twice to destroy the two Shades on the upper level on the other side of the canyon, while her passengers dealt with the two Grunts and two Jackals to the right. “I thought the Covenant had eliminated all the marine forces in this area” Cortana thought aloud. The Scorpion drove down the ramp, and as soon as it reached the bottom, followed closely by the Warthog and the allied Ghost, a Phantom flew overhead (a Type-52-B). It fired, and a shot from the Scorpion blew its chin turret off. It stopped at the upper level of the canyon behind the humans, and dropped its cargo of Grunts and then flew away. The Grunts, however, were funneled down a single path – the rock ramp – and were easily cut down as soon as they came in range. The vehicles moved on, the new marines running behind them, and the tank took out the two Hunters standing in front of the next tunnel. Unfortunately, the tunnel had metal pillars blocking it, the gaps between them too small to fit any vehicles. Everyone dismounted, Teana leading in and sticking a plasma grenade to a cloaked Elite whose active plasma sword gave away its position; after the heat from the blast had faded, the group moved into and through the short cave. On the other side, to the right, three Grunts and a Jackal popped out and opened fire, and a marine went down when a barrage of plasma bolts ate through his chest armor and burned through his torso. A grenade form the marine Sergeant took the four hostiles out. An Elite ran down the rock ramp up ahead, and was speared through the neck by a sniper rifle shot from Teana. “It looks like the Covenant are dug in up in those rocks” a marine said. “Marines, hold your positions” Cortana announced. “We’ll handle those guns.” The two Spartans ran up the ledge and out into the open area, gunning down Grunts, and Teana fired a single-shot from Mirage Rifle at the Grunt manning the old-model Shade ahead and to the left. A Ghost charged in from the right, and a Banshee opened fire as it flew towards them. Teana switched Cross Mirage to Longsword Mode single blade, and just as the Banshee passed overhead she swung, hacking off the craft’s right wing as it passed. It spiraled out of control and smashed into a boulder. The Ghost found a plasma grenade sticking to its fuel cell, and the resulting violent explosion melted all snow within two meters of the blast’s center (and vaporized within half a meter). Teana switched Mirage back to Rifle Mode and then used her sniper rifle to take out the gunners of the two Shades on either side of the distant door to the right. The marines moved up; an Elite who came out of the door was taken down by a sniper shot from the marine Sergeant. “Cortana to Fireteam Zulu: I’ve sent a distress call tagged with this location. Hold here and await evac. The Spartans and I are going to continue on ahead.” “Roger, Cortana” the Sergeant replied. “Thanks for the assists, Spartans. Okay, team, buckle in; evac bird’s on its way, and I don’t want any surprises before it gets here.” The two Spartans moved on, Teana taking point and switching her Device/Rifle to full auto. They encountered a pack of Grunts who were quickly dealt with, and moved counterclockwise through the circular room, reaching another elevator and riding it up. At the top, a Jackal waiting for the elevator got its brains blown out by a shot from John’s pistol. In the next small room, a pair of Jackals was caught off-guard and dealt with, and the Chief picked up a grenade from a dead marine and hurled it up the ramp into the next main room. The explosive shredded three Grunts and wounded a fourth, and the two Spartans ran into the room and killed it and another Jackal. Suddenly, from the room’s center emerged an Elite General wielding a concussion rifle. The Master Chief readied his shotgun and ran in close; two point-blank blasts to the chest brought the alien’s shields down, and a third blew its hearts and lungs out. As they moved to the other end of the room, the door began to open from the other side. John quickly threw a frag grenade, which shredded the Skirmisher, Jackal, and three Grunts on the other side. The Spartan pair moved through the hallway, coming out onto another bridge. They silently killed several sleeping Grunts, scavenging plasma grenades from them, and began to move across the bridge. Up ahead, a pair of red-armored Elite Majors spotted them, and the closest one opened fire with its needle rifle. Teana fired a rifle grenade, the blast weakening both Elites’ shields, and she & the Chief opened fire on full-auto at the pair of aliens, bringing them down. They charged across the bridge, gunning down two Grunts and a Jackal, and when they reached the other side a cloaked Elite and five Grunts came out to meet them. John took out the Elite with his shotgun (four shells left now) while Teana killed the Grunts with her rifle. They moved through the next hallway, passing through the next circular room, whose only occupant was a blue-armored Elite who quickly fell to John’s assault rifle. They entered a long, straight hallway, John using his pistol to kill the Grunts and Jackal, and they moved through to the next room, combining fire to bring down a red-armored Elite. A trio of Jackals was killed by a frag grenade, and a pack of Grunts were dealt with by assault rifle fire. The Spartan pair passed through another hallway, coming out onto another bridge. They looked right, and saw the bridge that they had just crossed five minutes ago… only now, a Hunter pair stood on it. They ran across the bridge, a plasma grenade and a shotgun blast taking down two Elite Minors, and rifle fire downing the panicky Grunt pack, as explosive green shells went off behind them. A cloaked Elite at the end of the bridge had its skull punched in, and the dynamic duo entered another hallway. The next room was patrolled by two Jackals and seven Grunts, who went down easy enough. A small entryway led to another long, straight hallway. A cloaked Elite nearby ignited his sword, and John ducked under the decapitating swing, shoulder-checking the shimmering figure in the gut. The Elite’s shields flared, rendering it fully visible, and point-blank assault rifle fire finished it off. Toward the end of the corridor, another cloaked Elite tried to club Teana from behind with its plasma rifle, only for her to hear the slight sliding of armored plates against each other and step to the side, using her rifle as a club to bash the cloaked alien in the face, dispelling its active camouflage. She fired several shots point-blank into its face, and it fell. The next circular room seemed quiet… until they heard the clanking of a Hunter’s armor. Sure enough, a peek through a window revealed an Mgalekgolo pair inside the room’s central area. John saw an opportunity, though, and ran in toward the dead marine’s rocket launcher. The first Hunter spotted him and was about to call out a warning to its bond-brother, but the Chief was faster, firing a rocket into the back of the second Hunter, which collapsed dead in a smoking heap. The first one roared in rage and fired its cannon in beam configuration, sweeping the emerald beam across the room in an attempt to hit the moving Spartan. John successfully evaded the attack, and the Hunter suddenly stopped as an orange energy blade chopped it in half at the waist. A plasma grenade to the face finished the bisected Hunter off. They went through the next door, using their rifles to take down a Jackal and four Grunts, and moved through the hallway. If I Had A Super Weapon… The door opened, and they quickly ducked behind a nearby boulder. To the right was a massive structure. “Analyzing…” Cortana said. “This must be the control room. …Subtle. The entrance is at the top of that pyramid structure; bring me up there and I should be able to get us inside.” A frag grenade was tossed out, killing two Jackals and an Elite Minor whose shields had been deactivated because the alien had felt overconfident, thinking that no humans could get past the Hunters. The Master Chief sprinted ahead, gunning down a red-armored Elite and climbing aboard a Banshee. He took off, gaining a bit of altitude and then circling around to launch a fuel rod bomb at the Covenant coming from the bridge’s opposite door. Teana sniped another Elite who was trying to board the second Banshee, and then ran over and climbed in, joining the Chief in the sky. Together, they made short work of the Covenant on the bridge. They flew downward, launching a pair of fuel rod bombs at a Wraith, which returned fire ineffectually. Another pair of fuel rod shots destroyed the tank. They flew up to the top of the structure, dismounting their Banshees. John hopped in one of the two new-model Shades flanking the door, while Teana engaged the door-open button and quickly ran to the other gun. The door slid open, and the large force of Covenant got a nasty surprise as the two heavy plasma turrets opened fire on them. The Zealot went down first, trying to rush in with its sword at John’s gun but falling dead a few meters from him. The rest of the Covenant fell quickly, the turrets’ blasts burning through them. With the area clear, the two Spartans got out of the turrets and walked in, triggering another door. A swarm of eight Drones flew out through the opening door, firing their plasma pistols at the intruders. John & Teana dodged about, firing their rifles at the insectoids. The last Drone fell just as its final shot drained Teana’s shields; by the time she and the Chief had reached the final door, they had recharged. John hit the controls, and the door slid open to reveal a massive chamber, much of it filled by a humongous hologram of the ringworld. A bridge with a reflective surface led to a central terminal. They walked across the bridge and up to the terminal. The Chief pulled Cortana’s chip out of his helmet and inserted it into the terminal. Cortana’s hologram sprang to life from the terminal, 15 feet tall and constantly shifting between green, blue, and purple. “You all right?” the Chief asked. “Never been better” the AI responded. “You can’t imagine the wealth of information. The knowledge, so much, so fast… it's glorious!” “So… what sort of weapon is it?” “What are you talking about?” “Let’s stay focused here. Halo: how do we use it against the Covenant?” “This ring isn’t some sort of brutish cudgel, you barbarian, it’s something else. Something much more important. The Covenant were right. This ring… Forerunner… give me a second. …Yes, the Forerunners built this place, what they called a Fortress World, in order to contain…” Her eyes widened, a look of horror appearing on her face. “Oh no… oh, those Covenant fools! They must have known! There must’ve been signs!” “What’s wrong?” Teana asked, alarmed somewhat by the AI looking so freaked out. “The Covenant found something buried in this ring, and now it’s loose.” “What’s loose?” the Chief asked. “Something horrifying. An extreme threat; much greater than the Covenant, even. This ring was built to contain it. And the Captain… Keyes! We have to stop him!” “What’s up with the Captain?” Teana asked, now quite worried. “The Covenant weapons cache he’s looking for; it’s actually a containment facility for this new threat! He could accidentally release it! You two need to get out of here now! Get going, find Keyes, and stop him before it’s too late!” The two Spartans, now understanding a hint of the severity of the situation, made haste for the exit, radioing Foehammer to come and pick them up ASAP.

2011-02-22, 07:32

Link #29377

mega1987

GregOS Offline

Join Date: Jan 2011

Location: Philippines

Age: 36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Heading out the door for work, but, here you go.

Shine 1 -45

Spoiler for Blood That Flows - Shine 46:

Watch out Riksfalto, you'll have some competition in the title of bloodiest knight here. If nanya decided to may Arisa a blood knight like character, but i prefer she leans towards Dante's fighting style(stylish to the point that you show off... XD).

__________________

2011-02-22, 08:50

Link #29378

WarpObscura

Bibliophile

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: There's this dot on the world map...

Quote:

Originally Posted by itanshi1

Spoiler for snip:

Eh? Teleporting during inertia? Ever play Portal? You make your self face a different direction and inertia takes you not down preferably, well gravity will correct, but it will slow the descent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaijo

You make an interesting point, damn you. I'll have to get a bit creative, then...

Thanks, you just made me wonder: Did you ever explicitly say that the teleport (spell) in question preserves inertia?

__________________

Yo dawg, I heard you like QB...

Thanks MAEt for the av!

2011-02-22, 11:44

Link #29379

Kaijo

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: Somewhere over the rainbow, in a house dropped on an ugly, old woman.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarpObscura

Thanks, you just made me wonder: Did you ever explicitly say that the teleport (spell) in question preserves inertia?

I didn't, no. I haven't added anything to it that that the manga hasn't. I did have Nanoha preserve inertia during a Flash Step, but that was my own interpretation of a possibility. Although when Erio uses a Sonic Move to bounce up the escalator and catch Caro, there seems to be some inertia left over that sends them both to the ground. However, not sure that would be classified as a teleport, although they seem to classify all such spells in the more nebulous "movement magic" category.

Currently evaluating a few different ideas for the scene. I'm still working under the assumption the Hucks do use magic, so Deville's spell would be magical, and that Vivio could use her own magic to interfere and prevent it from happening, due to holding onto him. I'd be working under the assumption that Deville isn't as quite as advanced as Yuuno to forcibly teleport someone against their will if they are strong enough to resist.

2011-02-22, 17:35	Link #29380
DKN117 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Whittier, Southern CA Age: 34	Spoiler for Book 1 Ch. 17 - The New Threat: BOOK 1 CHAPTER 17 - THE NEW THREAT Halo Installation 04 Swamp September 20th, 2552 21:30 hours The Pelican dropship’s engine noise joined the chorus of assorted sounds filling the swamp. The craft flew between the trees, relying on instruments to ‘see’ through the mist. It spun about and the rear hatch opened, allowing its two passengers a look at the murky, spooky locale. Well Enough Alone “The last transmission from the Captain’s dropship was from this area,” Foehammer said, “and that was over 12 hours ago. When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in and I’ll come pick you up.” The two Spartans hopped out, landing with a splash in calf-deep water. The dropship rose into the sky and flew off, its running lights soon disappearing in the mist. They moved on, and within seconds they spotted a shape up ahead. Approaching closer, they saw that it was a crashed UNSC dropship: Victor-933. The Captain’s dropship. A quick search showed that there were only two bodies, those of the pilot and copilot, meaning that they had managed to drop off Keyes and his team, and had crashed shortly after liftoff. As they inspected the wreckage, they walked into the troop bay, where they heard something: a recording, jumbled with static in a few places, speaking in the pilot’s voice. “Dropship Victor-933 (static) Pillar of Autumn. Need assistance. We are under attack by some new kind of hostiles. It isn’t Covenant. Captain Keyes has been captured by hostiles. (static) –dug in at a large structure in a swamp-(static) –need to pull out. Please-(static). I will set this message to repeat at regular intervals. Dropship Victor-933, clear.” Not Covenant, he said. The new threat that Cortana mentioned was active. And, from the sound of things, it had Captain Keyes. This was seriously bad news. If something that even the Covenant were scared of had the Captain… John shook his head. If something had the Captain, he & the Warrant Officer would swoop in and save the day. They exited the Pelican, the Chief stocking up on shotgun shells, as Teana grabbed a fallen shotgun and plenty of ammo for it. They stocked up on grenades, and then moved on. They soon encountered another anomaly: a Covenant Spirit dropship, prongs-down in the dirt. There was no apparent damage beyond that of a rough landing, so whatever had happened had likely been pilot error. There were no bodies; perhaps it crashed from very low altitude and at low speed, and thus no Covenant perished in the landing? They moved on, treading through the waters, when suddenly shapes came out of the darkness ahead of them: Grunts, running toward them as fast as they could. “Run, humans!” one screamed to them. “Run for your lives!” The Chief grabbed the Grunt, stopping him as he tried to run past. “What’s going on?” he questioned. “The Parasite!” the Grunt cried. “Demons! Apocalyptic monsters foretold in Ancient Ones’ scriptures! Horrible bad nasty things with fangs and claws!” “Our commanding officer went in there” Teana said. “We need to find him.” “He probably not there anymore” the Grunt replied. “At least, not as you know him.” That sounded rather ominous, John thought. “We don’t really have much of a choice” he said. The Grunt was silent for a few seconds, and then said “Then may the gods guide you, and if the beasts catch you, I pray that your deaths are quick and painless, a luxury that very few of their victims get.” He let the Grunt go, and the little fellow ran to catch up to his comrades. “Chief” Teana said suddenly. “I think we’re being hunted. Look up, on the hill edges.” John looked up, and caught the barest glimpses of movement, ducking behind trees. He felt a creeping unease in the back of his mind, but squelched it; he had a mission. “Let's go.” They moved on, using a fallen tree as a bridge, and reached an area filled with trees. At one end was the entrance to a buried structure. They headed down and walked toward it. “I wouldn’t go down there if I were you” a raspy voice said to the left, the Mjolnir armor’s systems translating it to slightly-accented English. The two Spartans snapped to look left, raising their rifles. A Skirmisher, clad in orange and gold armor with a face-covering helmet, raised his hands. “Hold fire, humans. I am not your enemy here.” “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow you to bits” Teana snarled. “I’ll give you more than one, young human” the Skirmisher replied. “First, I and my squad know a great deal about what lurks in there; that knowledge can be of use to you. Second, not all of the Covenant is as rabidly human-hating as the Prophets and their ilk. The Sangheili, in particular, hold near-unanimous respect for your people, and many of them openly question the High Prophets’ refusal to allow your species into the Covenant. Many of the Unggoy and most of the Mgalekgolo share this view. Most of my people, the Kig-Yar, do not necessarily, but a few, such as myself and my team, share the Sangheili’s view. Most Kig-Yar relish in the slaughter, but my particular clan is merely on the Prophets’ payroll… and with how politically unstable the Covenant has been getting lately, a formal trade alliance with humanity is looking more and more enticing by the day.” “Politically unstable?” the Chief asked. “The Covenant?” The Skirmisher chuckled. “You have no idea. The Covenant has been showing signs of impending fracture for the last few decades, and it is worsening quickly. High-profile political assassinations have been rife lately. The combination of an old blood-feud between the Prophets & the Sangheili, the mutual hatred between the Sangheili & the Prophets’ lap-dogs the Jiralhanae, and the increasing human-sympathetic sentiments amongst the Sangheili are all putting a great deal of internal pressure on the Covenant.” “And why are you telling us all this?” The Skirmisher smiled. “Because when the Covenant inevitably fractures, I and the rest of the Kig-Yar clan I am part of fully intend to extend formal alliance to the UNSC. Compared to the restrictive dogma that infests the Covenant, you humans are open-minded, forward-thinking, and above all you have a far better grasp of trade and money than the Prophets do. Extermination-goal warfare is bad for business; why wipe a race out if trading with them would be so much more profitable? Plus, the unending determination and courage that has endeared your people to the Sangheili has also endeared you to me personally. I like you humans; you’re far too interesting to let die out.” “So… anything else? You said you had intel on what’s down there.” At this, the Skirmisher’s face grew serious. “They are called the Flood. And they are more horrible than your worst nightmares made flesh. The Forerunners, those who built this ring and whom the Covenant worship as gods, were a galaxy-spanning civilization with a tech level that was truly extraordinary, capable of bending the stars to their whim. The Flood brought them to their knees in only around 300 Terran years.” This… sounded bad. “What exactly are they?” Teana asked. “A virulent, parasitic life form, likely of extragalactic origin according to our best scholars and translators of Forerunner records. They reproduce by infecting and/or consuming sapient life-forms that have sufficient calcium levels and a central nervous system. They can absorb the knowledge of those they consume. The small ones take control of the bodies of sufficient targets, erasing their minds, killing them, and using their bodies as grotesque, horribly-mutated puppets of astounding strength, speed, and durability. They eventually use these Consumed Ones as incubators for more small ones, completing the cycle. With sufficient time, they can consume an entire species; only about two weeks are needed for a full-sized Flood outbreak to cleanse a planet of non-Flood life.” Now it made sense. This was why Cortana was so terrified of these ‘Flood’ getting loose; if they got out, the entire ring could be overrun in no time. And if they got their hands on a working FTL-capable starship… “Our ship’s commanding officer went down there some time ago” the Chief said. “We need to find him… before the Flood do. If they get hold of him, they could access his memories of our homeworld’s location.” “Then we shall go down there with you” the Skirmisher replied. He let out a series of squawks – a verbal code signal – and from the shadows emerged six more Skirmishers, two in gold armor and four more in dull green. The gold-armored ones both wielded a needler and a carbine each; two of the green-armored ones carried carbines, a third carried a needler, and the fourth wielded a needle rifle and a plasma pistol. All carried forearm-mounted energy shields and plasma rifles. “We cannot risk the Parasite breaking free, nor can we allow a sapient race’s homeworld to fall to them. If they infested humanity and gained access to your weapons and technology, they could become nigh-unstoppable. My name is Chen ’S-Yar, and this is my hand-picked Talon Squad, the best Kig-Yar special-ops team in the entirety of the Covenant.” Chen hefted his needle rifle, checked to ensure his plasma rifle was clipped to his belt, and pressed a button on his wrist-guard, activating a Sangheili-style full-body energy shield. “Come, Spartans. Let us go save your Ship-Master.” The squad stepped forward, entering the facility and taking position on a lift. One of the Skirmishers stepped to the console and hit a button, and the lift descended. As they rode the elevator down, Chen turned to the Spartans. “The small ones – Infection Forms –travel in tightly-clustered swarms. Use automatic weapons against them, and if you see a large group, throw a grenade. The human fragmentation grenade would work best. If we encounter any Combat Forms – mutated sapients controlled by Infection Forms from within – aim for the chest cavity; that’s where the Infection Form is nestled. The human shotgun should do wonders if you aim right; I see you both carry one. Good. If we encounter Carrier Forms – the large, bloated ones – do not get close to them. Shoot them down from a distance, so as to avoid the resulting blast when they burst and release the Infection Forms stored within. Also, if you stick a plasma grenade to one, the resulting blast will kill the Infection Forms as well.” They stepped out, a green-armored Skirmisher leading, and walked around a bend to find four red-armored Grunts and three low-rank Jackals. Chen stepped forward and explained the situation, and they let the mixed-species team pass. They leapt down to the bottom floor of the next room, where the explanation was repeated to a trio of orange-armored Grunts and two more Jackal Minors. They moved through the small door, passing carefully through a small double-path room and entering the next large room. Ahead and to the left, three Jackals stood, shields up and weapons pointed at a door. Chen approached and explained the situation. “You’d best steel your stomachs before you pass through this door, Field-Master ‘S-Yar” one said. “It is an ugly sight.” The Chief took point, Teana and a gold-armored Skirmisher backing him. The door opened to reveal a gruesome sight: blue and violet blood covered the walls, floor, and ceiling. Teana and the Skirmisher winced. The team passed through, careful to avoid thinking about just what they were walking through. One Jackal briefly followed them through, but a drop of purple blood from the ceiling landed on his arm; he suffered a rather big case of the willies, and doubled back to guard the passage from outside. The team passed through, reaching another room. An old-model Shade sat in the middle, and a Covenant crate against a wall had spilled to reveal several needler ammo crystals. Teana turned to Chen. “Why are we seeing so many living Jackals and Grunts?” “We Kig-Yar have a rather light-weight skeletal structure” Chen replied. “It is a remnant of our non-sapient airborne ancestors. It gives us great speed, but it leaves our bodies somewhat fragile, hence our heavy reliance on shields and armor. It also means that we lack sufficient calcium to be chosen as Combat Forms. The Unggoy are not quite large enough, lacking sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood as combatants. The Yanme’e – Drones – do not have calcium-based endoskeletons, and the Lekgolo – Hunters – do not technically have central nervous systems. Amongst the Covenant, only Sangheili and Jiralhanae are sufficient candidates to be made Combat Forms.” “What about these Prophets you mentioned?” Chen chuckled. “The Prophets may hold tremendous political and religious power, but physically they are frail and weak; even a Kig-Yar could likely best one in a direct fight. They are the brains of the Covenant, and most definitely not the brawn.” “Our reports hint at High Prophets” the Master Chief said. “Who are they?” “They are the three Hierarchs who hold supreme command of the Covenant” one of Chen’s lieutenants said. “The Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret. Regret is young, impatient, impulsive, and arrogant; he rarely thinks things through, and more than once has Truth needed to pull him out of trouble. Mercy is the oldest of the three, and is rather… odd; arguments have been made over whether he is senile or merely… ‘quirky’. To use a human term, he is pretty much Truth’s yes-man. Truth is the real king-piece. In theory, the three share power, but he holds all the cards, and holds sway over the other two. He is extremely intelligent, cunning, resourceful, good at spinning complex, convoluted plots that can take years – decades, even – to pay off. He is suave, manipulative, and prideful. Word has it that he knows much more about this war’s secrets than he lets on, and that he was responsible not only for declaring the war, but possibly for being the individual who started it in the first place.” Teana had gone through enough works of fiction to understand this set-up. If the UNSC were going to end this war, they needed to take out Truth, either by capture or kill. She passed this on to John via private channel, and he agreed wholeheartedly. Truth sounded like he was one hell of a chessmaster, and the UNSC would really have to bring their A-game to win this particular match. “You’re a lot smarter than I expected” Teana quipped. “Yes, well,” Chen replied, “much like humanity as a whole, I hold the seeking of knowledge in high regard. I’ve actually been studying up on bits of human history and culture salvaged from wrecked ships' databanks. Some of your peoples’ writers were quite gifted… though I, personally, find Shakespeare just a tad overrated, really. Also, I prefer Mozart over Beethoven.” Behind her visor, Teana’s eyes bugged out a bit. John made sure his helmet was recording; the boys back home weren’t gonna believe this… “By the way,” the Chief asked him, “what’s this ‘Sacred Ring’ stuff I keep hearing?” Chen shook his head. “The primary facet of the Covenant religion. I myself do not subscribe to it. The legend states that the Rings, when activated, will propel those who are worthy on a Great Journey, transcending them into godhood. It has been discovered that the Forerunners activated the rings at the tail end of their war with the Flood, and thus they became gods. The central focus of the Covenant is to activate this Great Journey and follow the Forerunners into ascension.” The team moved on, hopping up onto the small ledge behind the toppled ammo crate and passing through the door, the Master Chief taking the lead. When they passed through and entered the next room, they found a surprise: a UNSC marine, eyes wide with terror, holding an M6D pistol and pointing it all over the place. He spotted the Chief. “Stay back! Stay back! You’re not turning me into one of those things! I’ll die first!” “Stand down, marine” the Chief said. The marine didn’t listen; he pointed the pistol at the Chief. “Get away from me, you freaks! I won’t be like you! I’ll die first!” In a flash, the Chief stepped in and grabbed the pistol out of the man’s grip. Teana and the Skirmishers filed in, noticing the man and coming to the same conclusion: literally driven mad by terror. “What is going on?” the Chief asked him. “What did you see?” “Find your own hiding place! The monsters are everywhere! Play dead! That’s what I did. Played dead. They took the live ones. Oh God, I can still hear them!” he began to twitch some more. “Get a grip on yourself, human!” Chen shouted. “Keyes is going to die unless you tell us where he is and what happened!” The marine finally took notice of the aliens. “Figures…” he mutters. “The world’s already going insane. What’s Covvies & Spartans teaming up gonna hurt?” Nonetheless, he seemed to calm down ever-so-slightly. “Head up that rubble behind me, follow the upper levels. You’ll find… them. They’ll get you all. They won’t get me!” He began to almost-imperceptibly rock back and forth. John shook his head. He reluctantly handed the pistol back to the man, who took it and seemed to curl himself up over it. There was no way this man was making it out alive. The group headed across the room, climbing atop a fallen block of metal and using it to reach the upper catwalk. They crossed the room, passing through a door directly above the one they’d used to enter and using it to enter the previous large room's upper level. At this point, John noticed something. He hadn’t picked up on it before, but this Skirmisher team was actually showing an extraordinary level of team coordination. Tiny tics, finger movements, low sounds, and such were being used as signals and status reports, and the aliens had their heads on a swivel, constantly making sure to have a gun pointed at every single nook and cranny at any one time. Looking at things, it was almost like a team of Spartans, with Chen being equivalent to John himself. He suddenly felt a little better knowing that these guys really knew what they were doing. A green-armored Skirmisher hit a switch, and a light-bridge snapped into existence, creating a path to the other side of the room. There, glowing red Forerunner glyphs hung on the wall over a broken-down door. The team cautiously moved through, covering every approach. They entered a downward-sloping area, finding it covered in human blood. They carefully stepped down, approaching a door that had a UNSC code-breaker keypad attached to it. As John reached out to hit a button, a sudden, faint slithering sound made him spin around, rifle raised. Everyone else readied their weapons, looking around. When nothing happened, the Chief hit a button on the keypad. The door beeped, slid open, and dumped a dead marine into his arms. Immediately he held his assault rifle one-handed, pointing it into the room. Teana pointed Mirage Rifle in. Finding nothing, he carefully backed into the room. The rest of the team followed, immediately taking defensive position, and the door slid shut behind them. The room’s floor was drenched in human blood, but disturbingly there was not a single body to be found other than the one in the Chief’s arms. Hundreds of spent shell casings littered the ground. “Clear left” one Skirmisher said. “Clear right” Teana said. “Clear center” Chen said. “Stay alert.” The Chief gingerly laid down the body, using his hand to close the half-open eyes, and carefully crept forward. He found a UNSC marine helmet laying on the floor, the eye-piece cracked. JENKINS was stenciled on the side. He reached inside, finding the helmet recorder intact, and pulled it out. He inserted it into a slot on his helmet, making sure to beam it to Teana. The Skirmishers’ eyepieces and helmet speakers proved compatible as well, and the team nervously settled in to watch the show. -PVT. JENKINS, WALLACE A.- -PLAY- The dropship flew through the swamp, and mid-21st-century hard rock music blared over the speakers. “Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?” asked Pvt. Manuel Mendoza, who was sitting across from Jenkins. “Watch yo’ mouth, boy” replied 1Sgt. Johnson. “This ‘stuff’ is your history. It should remind you grunts what we’re fightin’ to protect.” “Hey… if the Covenant wanna wipe out this particular part of my history, that’s fine by me.” “Yeah” Pvt. Bisenti added in. “Better it than us.” “Well, you ask ‘em real nice next time you see ‘em, Bisenti” Johnson said. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to oblige.” “LZ looks clear!” the pilot announced. “I’m bringin’ us down!” The Pelican came to a stop. “Go, go, go!” -FAST-FORWARD- -PLAY- The squad advanced toward the surface-level entrance. “Stay close, Jenkins!” Johnson ordered. “Mendoza, move it up!” Johnson turned to Jenkins. “Wait here for the Captain and his squad, and then get your ass inside.” “Yes, sir” “Okay, let’s move!” -FAST-FORWARD- -PLAY- The squad stood around the dead body of an Elite, clad in black armor. Its chest had been torn open. Over on the left, Mendoza examined another Elite’s body that was in the same state. “…which is weird, right?” Private Kappus said. “I mean, look at it. Something… scrambled the insides.” “What’s that?” Johnson pointed at something. “Plasma scoring?” “Yeah… I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. Y’know, friendly fire or something?” Captain Keyes came into view, standing over the corpse. “What do we have, First-Sergeant?” “Looks like a Covenant Elite patrol” Johnson responded. “Badass special-ops units. All KIA.” “Real pretty. Friend of yours?” “Nah. We just met.” -FAST-FORWARD- -PLAY- Now the squad, Keyes included, stood outside the door that the Chief & Chen’s team had just passed through. “Right” Keyes said. “Let’s get this door open.” “I’ll try, sir” Kappus responded. “But it looks like the Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down.” “Just do it, son.” “Yes, sir.” Kappus pulled out a code-breaker and attached it to the door. He hit a few keys. After several seconds, it beeped and the door slid open. The squad filed through, Bisenti taking point and Jenkins close behind him, the rest following. The squad fanned out, and soon a faint rumbling could be heard. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Mendoza said, cocking his rifle. “You’ve always got a bad feelin’ about something” Johnson responded. Just then, Corporal Lovik’s voice came over the comm. “Captain. Sarge. Can you hear me?” “What’s going on, soldier?” Keyes inquired. “We got contacts!” the marine was panicking. “Shitloads of ‘em! But they’re not Covenant! They’re just tearing through us! We- what the fuck? No! NOOO!!!" Static blocked out the channel. “Corporal, report” Keyes ordered. Silence. “Mendoza,” Johnson said, “get your ass back up to Second Squad’s position and find out what the hell is goin’ on!” “But-” “I don’t have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order!” “Sarge! Listen!” Kappus brought their attention to the same slithering noise that John had heard earlier. It steadily grew louder. “What the hell is that?” “Where’s it coming from?” “Everywhere!” “There! Mira!” Mendoza pointed at a door on the left that had just been pushed down. From it came a horde of small, vaguely squid-like creatures. “AAGH!!!” Private Riley suddenly screamed. “GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!” Jenkins looked left, seeing Riley on the ground with one of the bizarre creatures atop him. Blood began to flow from the marine’s neck, where the creature had inserted feeler-like appendages. Kappus yanked the thing off, and Riley went limp. The thing then began to wriggle and squirm in Kappus’ grip, trying to break free. “Let ‘em have it!” Jenkins looked, and saw a massive tide of the creatures advancing. The marines opened fire, and assault rifle rounds began to tear through them, killing dozens. But there were more. Much more. “Goddamnit, Jenkins, fire your fucking weapon!” “There’s too many!” Soon the marines began to fall, covered by the endless flood of creatures. One leapt onto Keyes, driving a tentacle into his neck. He screamed and went limp. Jenkins turned to run, but something smacked into him from behind, dislodging his helmet. The display cut off, the last few seconds being audio of that horrible squirming sound. -UNEXPECTED END OF RECORDING (MIA/KIA/INCAP/UNKNOWN)- -PLAYBACK END- The Flood John yanked out the chip, tossing it aside. All around him, the Skirmishers, who had seen and heard the footage, were even more on edge. Also, even through Teana’s armor John could see she was quivering, and TEAMBIO showed a considerably elevated heart-rate and breathing rate, and increased adrenalin. He didn’t blame her for being scared; right now, he was shaking a little, too. “We need to get the fuck out of here” Teana whispered, her voice quaking. “Now.” One of the Skirmishers tried the door. “It’s locked” he said, trying to keep calm. Everyone immediately checked their weapons, making sure they were ready. Teana switched her rifle to full-auto, Chen slung his needle rifle over his back and pulled out his plasma rifle, his fellows following suit, and the Chief swept the room, finger less than two centimeters from his assault rifle’s trigger. After several seconds, a banging sound could be heard. The door on the opposite side of the room burst open, and a cluster of Infection Forms came out. A gold-armored Skirmisher in the middle opened fire with his plasma rifle, sweeping it back and forth slightly and burning through multiple IFs. The Chief stepped up, adding his fire and quickly popping the swarm. The door on the right side of the room began to bulge outward, and the Chief threw a frag grenade just as it fell open; the explosion and high-speed shrapnel ripped the Infection Forms apart, leaving just two that were quickly dealt with by a green-armored Skirmisher. A door on the left burst open, and Chen and one of his lieutenants focused fire, John adding in a second later. One Infection Form raced forward, only for John to kill it by bringing his foot down hard on top of it. Another leapt, and he swatted it out of the air; it slammed into a wall and popped on impact. A third got through and landed on him; it popped instantly on contact with his shield, causing a barely-noticeable drain in his shield’s display. "”They have likely learned by now that your shields protect you, Spartan” Chen said. “You’ll likely be a prime target. If enough Infection Forms sacrifice themselves in a short enough period of time, they may manage to drain your shields completely and leave you vulnerable to infection. Smaller Spartan, the same warning goes to you.” Teana was about to reply to being called “small”, when the door behind her, the one that had locked them in, began to bang. Whatever was out there did not sound like a bunch of Infection Forms hurling themselves at a door. She readied her shotgun. Just as it burst, she threw a frag grenade; it shredded the Infection Forms that came through. Suddenly, a huge shape leapt through the smoke toward her. She pulled the trigger, and the metal pellets tore through the thing’s chest, bringing it down and killing the Infection Form nestled within. Looking at it, she saw the familiar hand and foot profile of a Covenant Elite, as well as the alien’s head and beck bent backwards over the thing’s back. “We’ve got Combat Forms!” The team turned to face the door, one Skirmisher moving a second late as he crushed the last Infection Form to death between his claws. Three more infected Elites ran through, each one having one hand replaced by wicked tentacle-claws. Bits of their hosts’ old armor still clung to them, and if a close look was taken the sensory feelers of the internal Infection Forms could be seen poking out through the base of the neck. John opened fire on one’s chest, the assault rifle rounds punching through its twisted flesh and killing the Infection Form inside. A Skirmisher with a needle rifle got three rounds in another’s torso, and the resulting super-combine explosion tore it apart. Another Skirmisher readied his carbine. After a second of aim, he fired, and the green projectile shot straight through the center of the creature’s chest; it dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. “How did you do that?” Teana asked him. “Do you know the aim-assist function held in precision weapons such as the human single-shot rifles & pistols, and our carbines and needle rifles?” he asked her, “The part where when you aim at a weak point such as the head, the red reticle brightens and a small dot appears in the center of it?” “Yeah…” “The Covenant has encountered the Flood before, and we’ve designed our precision weapons to target the point in the chest where the Infection Form has deflated itself and nestled in.” He then handed Teana a data chip. “This should allow you to update your peoples’ precision weapons against Flood.” Teana slipped the data-chip into a slot on her helmet for storage; she wasn’t going to be using it right now, though, preferring to keep her rifle on automatic. “We need to keep moving” the Master Chief said. “We need to get to the surface, inform our respective armies of the situation.” The Chief took point, heading for the busted door, with the Skirmishers filing in behind him and Teana bringing up the rear. They headed out and up, the Chief using his shotgun to kill two more Infected Elites, and they entered the room with the bridge. Down below, a pack of Jackals and Grunts were pinned down by a horde of Combat Forms. The Spartans and Chen’s squad fired down, culling the Flood’s numbers and giving the Grunts time to grab Needlers and use them to blow the remaining Flood away. The Covenant below waved in thanks, and the team moved toward a small door on the right. They entered a disturbingly quiet room, and spotted the unaware Flood down below. They quietly moved along the wall, reaching another door on the right, only to find it locked. They looked, and saw the only unlocked door on the first floor, directly below the door they’d used to enter. Teana threw a frag grenade, killing the Combat Forms and many of the Infection Forms. They jumped down, the Chief using his assault rifle to kill the stragglers. They were about to pass through the door leading to the small team of Grunts and Jackals, when one of Chen’s Skirmishers pointed at another unlocked door below the previous locked one. They filed through, carefully making sure there were no surprises in the tiny side-rooms. They came out on the lower level of the next room, and four Combat Forms ran up to meet them. The Chief and Teana used their shotguns to put them in their place. On the upper level, two Jackals stood watch. “Field-Master Chen!” one shouted. “Up here!” “We’re working our way out, Minor” Chen said. “Which way do we go?” “The doorway we are currently guarding” he replied. “Use that stack of fallen crates to climb up here.” The team made their way up, the Jackals nervously eyeing the Spartans, but trusting their commander and fellow clansmen. The team moved through, the Chief scavenging assault rifle ammo and shotgun shells from the dead marine. The next room, a low-ceiling hallway with three bizarre machines with colored sparks dancing through them, was quiet and clean. Through there, they found an elevator room. Massed fire quickly downed the three Combat Forms and popped the Infection Forms. They got aboard the lift and hit the switch, ready to ascend to the surface. It dropped so fast that the Chief’s ears almost popped. The walls on the way down dripped with blue Grunt blood. At the bottom, they got two unpleasant new surprises. The first was that the half-dozen Combat Forms awaiting them wielded weapons. The second was that two of them were infected humans, former members of Keyes’ squad. One Skirmisher got grazed in the arm by an assault rifle bullet, but continued fighting. When the last Combat Form fell, the team medic – a green-armored Skirmisher named Ked – put a dressing on his comrade’s wound. Suddenly, a lone Infection Form scurried out of hiding. It ‘ran’ over to a fallen Combat Form, burrowed into its chest, and the former Elite began to rise. A shotgun blast blew its leg off, and the Chief then walked over and put the barrel to its chest. A bang, and the chest cavity was shredded beyond the Flood’s capability to revive. Great, John thought, they can revive sufficiently-intact Combat Forms. One more nasty surprise. They moved into another large two-leveled room, and the central light-bridge flicked and faded in and out of existence; too unreliable to risk crossing. Across the way, a trio of UNSC marines was engaged with Flood. One of them was caught by an Infection Form. He screamed, fell, and was beginning to mutate when another marine recognized the signs and ended his misery. The Spartans and Talon Squad opened fire on the Flood assailing them, aiding the marines. Their level clear, the two men looked over and saw the mixed-species force, double-taking in surprise. “Sirs?” one asked, incredulously. “What?” “It’s a long story, marine” Teana replied. “How do we get over there?” “This bridge is busted” the other said. “You could try hopping down, going through that door on the left. Once you reach the big square room, you can climb up the debris and reach the second level, and then follow the door over to us.” The team jumped down to the lower level, passing through the bloodstained doorway and reaching a heavily damaged room. A pack of Infection Forms spotted them and moved in, only to be killed before they could get close. Two Combat Forms leapt down from above, but the Spartans – having been warned by their motion trackers – were ready, blasting them with their shotguns before they could even hit the floor. The group crossed the room, using a toppled Covenant storage crate and a slab of metal to climb up to the upper walkway. Suddenly, they could hear the faint sounds of gunfire and screaming. They rushed through, entering the upper level of the main room, to find the two marines dead, a pair of Combat Forms standing over their mangled corpses. Teana gunned down one, and the Skirmisher named Kan used his needler to kill the other. They continued through, crossing the upper floor and another small square hallway to reach another square room. Down below, a busted door on the left showed where they needed to go. They leapt down, catching the two Combat Forms off-guard and killing them quickly, and passed through. They entered another long two-leveled room, a frag grenade dealing with two of the three Combat Forms and a well-placed carbine shot downing the third. Chen and John used their automatic weapons to clear out the pack of Infection Forms. The team crossed the room, passing through another busted-down door directly across. They entered yet another two-level square room, spotting a fallen slab of metal; on it were the dead bodies of a marine and a Jackal, two members of opposite sides teamed up in a final last stand. Teana grabbed some shotgun ammo from the marine, and Kan snagged another needler ammo crystal from his smaller fallen clan-mate. They climbed to the upper level, the Chief using his shotgun to kill the two Combat Forms that rushed to meet them, and the group headed to the lone unlocked door on the upper floor. They passed through and reached another long two-level room, Teana killing the unwary Human Combat Form from behind with a shotgun blast. Chen hit the bridge controls, and a light-bridge spanned across, leading to a busted-down door with two Forerunner symbols above it. The group carefully crossed, weapons trained at the doorway. This proved wise, as when they approached a horde of Combat Forms tried to funnel through the doorway. A frag grenade killed many, and the rest were shot down as they tried to squeeze through the narrow path, leaving them easy pickings for the elite group. Finally, they moved through, reaching another elevator and getting on it. John cautiously hit the button, and to everyone’s relief the elevator began to ascend. As they went up, a man’s voice came over the radio. “Heads up, boys. Elevator’s comin’ up; get ready!” “This is Spartan-117” John replied. “Warrant Officer D001 and I are on the elevator, and we have a squad of friendly Covenant with us. Do not shoot, over.” “Come again, sir? Did you say friendly Covenant?” “Affirmative, marine. Hold your fire; that’s an order.” The elevator arrived at the surface, showing a six-man squad of haggard-looking marines. They eyed the Skirmisher squad suspiciously, but kept their weapons lowered. “Sir,” the Corporal said, “thank God you guys are here. We’ve been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we headed for the RV point, and these… these things… they ambushed us. We gotta get the hell outta here.” “Those ‘things’ are called the Flood” John replied, “and they make the Covenant look like a church picnic. This is Chen ‘S-Yar and Talon Squad, members of a Jackal/Skirmisher clan who are planning on leaving the Covenant and siding with us in a few months. They’re specialists in dealing with the Flood.” “This was not my worst encounter with the Parasite,” Chen said, “but it comes close. I am glad to see that someone made it out alive.” “Wait,” the marine said. “Why a few months? Why not now?” “We must deliver a report to our clan head and Fleet-Master Vadamee as soon as possible” Chen replied, “and I said a few months because by then the Covenant will likely have split in half due to mounting political instability.” The marines gaped in shock at hearing this last bit. The Covenant was so unstable it was about to rip itself apart? The UNSC might not have to beat the Covenant; the Covenant might do their job for them! “This is Echo-419” Foehammer’s voice suddenly came over the comm. “Chief, Lanstar, is that you? I lost your signals when you disappeared inside the structure. What the hell’s going on down there? I’m tracking movement all over the place!” “You really don’t wanna know” Teana replied. “Suffice to say, the Covenant aren’t the only threat anymore. The Chief and I have linked up with a few marine survivors and squad of friendly Covvies – a badass Special-Ops squad, I might add. We need pickup.” “There’s a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above all that fog and foliage, and I can move in and pick you up.” “Let’s move” the Master Chief said. “Watch every shadow, and if it moves, shoot it.” Teana took point, Chen was in the middle, and the Chief brought up the rear. The marines and the rest of the Skirmishers fell in between them. Soon, a few Infection Forms crawled out from the shrubbery, and any slight hope that the Flood could be contained was lost. A marine shredded them with his assault rifle. They moved, gunning down a few Combat Forms, and they neared a passage between two hills. “Stop” Chen ordered. “My instincts are practically screaming at me; that passageway is an ambush waiting to happen.” “It’s our only way through” a marine replied. “I’ll lure them out” Teana said. She moved forward, and sure enough five Combat Forms leapt down, followed by a tide of Infection Forms. She backpedaled, firing her shotgun, as the Chief and the squad added their fire. A marine pitched a frag grenade, and nearly all of the Infection Forms were killed by it. They pushed through, the Chief & Teana killing the Combat Forms. The next open area of the swamp held more Flood forms; plasma rifle fire burnt down most of the Infection Forms, and everyone else opened fire on the Combat Forms. A marine suddenly screamed as an Infection Form leapt onto him, crawling all over him and looking for a gap in his armor. Chen fired a single plasma bolt, nailing the creature just before it could punch into the man’s neck. The marine nodded in gratitude. “This is Spirit dropship Absolute,” an Elite’s voice came over the radio, “contacting Field-Master ‘S-Yar. We are on station and ready to pull you out.” “Confirmed, Absolute” Chen replied. “Be advised; we have human allies and have engaged the Parasite. The humans’ dropship is also en-route. Do not fire.” “Wasn’t going to” the pilot said. “Absolute moving in to assist.” From above the tree-canopy several seconds later, a Spirit flew in, its plasma cannon opening up on the Flood. Another pleasant surprise came as several silver droids hovered in and began firing orange lasers at the Flood, further thinning their numbers. John and Teana made their way onto a nearby building, looking out at the scene. Suddenly, they could hear someone humming. They looked right, and an odd machine hovered into view. It was round, a silver body with a glowing blue ‘eye’ in the front. It stopped and looked at them. “Greetings” it… he said. “I am the Monitor of Installation 04. My name is 343 Guilty Spark. Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require assistance. Previously, my usage of a single Reclaimer ended poorly; perhaps two will fare better. Come.” Before either Spartan could protect, a series of gold, flashing rings encircled them and the Monitor, and soon all three disappeared. “Chief!” Foehammer shouted. “I’ve lost your signal! Where’d you go? Chief!” A few minutes later, with the path clear, the Skirmisher team bid farewell to the surviving marines, climbed aboard their dropship, and were flown away. Moments after, Echo-419 descended, extracting the men and high-tailing it out of the accursed swamp as quickly as possible.

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